Together we are One
by Serenity Dragonrider
Summary: The Drconians come to Berk for a visit, where they anounce that Serenity is pregnant. They plan to stay on Berk for one night, but then Toothless, Windwalker, Apollo, and Avalon get captured by Celts who want their skin and blood.
1. Chapter 1

Together we are One

The seven Draconian dragons and their two riders flew through the starry sky. Tenor was in the lead because he was the best at navigating at night. He was a black Night Fury/Blackfang hybrid with glowing green eyes and black teeth. He wore solid black armor with his personal crest on the head plate/crown, the insignia was a silver crescent moon surrounded by silver stars. On he back was his rider Serenity who was a beautiful, young dragon healer who had been riding dragons since she was five. She wore a green shirt, blue leather jacket and trousers, dark brown boots, black leather fingerless gloves, a wide brimmed hat completely covered in black scales. She had just recently been told something that overwhelmed her.

Behind Tenor was his mate Windwalker, a lovely black Night Fury with golden yellow eyes. She too wore black armor. On her back was her rider Chris, a young man who had been raised from a baby by dragons. He was a very skilled soldier, a great Dragon Rider, and Serenity's husband. He wore a dark blue shirt, a black overcoat with fur trims, brown leather pants, dark leather boots, and the same kind fingerless gloves that Serenity wore. On his waist was his twin swords.

Next to Windwalker was the Dragon Queen, and Chris's adopted mother, Aurora. She was sapphire blue with a deep turquoise underside, and silver eyes. She wore silver armor with an insignia of a snowflake made of sapphires and turquoise stones on her head plate/crown. She was one of the few dragons in the whole world that had the gift of magic like her father the Dragon God, Draco.

Behind the Queen was the Dragon King, and Chris's adopted father, Re. He was emerald green with blue eyes and lighter green underside and wing membranes. He wore gold armor with the Draconian crest on his head plate/crown, the crest was a blue circle with a green dragon in the center with his wings open, a gold apple in one back paw, and a golden music note in the other.

Behind Re was the young Dragon Princess, Avalon. She was teal green with violet purple horns and spines, she also had lavender eyes. She wore purple armor with a big green maple leaf insignia on her head plate/crown. She was only a year old and the size of a piglet, but her wing muscles were almost fully developed.

Beside Avalon was her younger brother Apollo. He was blood red with gold horns, spines, and eyes. He wore armor that was a slightly darker shade of red with a gold insignia of a dolphin leaping over a lyre, surrounded by a wreath. Both Apollo and Avalon were born with the power of magic, but were amateurs in the art and were only allowed to use their magic as a last resort and never in front of humans, except for Serenity and Chris.

The Draconians were on their way to Berk for an annual visit. They had left home earlier that morning. They expected to arrive at their destination by the next morning. They wanted to tell the vikings and dragons of Berk Serenity's big news.

"Are we nearly there Mama?" Avalon wined. "I'm getting tired."

"Me too," said Apollo.

"We still have many miles to go," said Aurora. "You can ride whenever you want."

"But that's not fair to the other dragons," said Apollo.

"You don't need to worry about that," said Re. "It's very noble of you to say so, but we are just fine."

"Okay," said Apollo. He and his sister landed on their mother's back and curled up, falling asleep at once. Chris pulled Windwalker alongside Tenor and Serenity.

"How are you doing?" he asked his wife.

"I'm doing okay," Serenity said quietly. "I just can't believe I have to give up riding and healing for so long." She gripped the reins and Tenor felt the tension in his bridle.

"You'll be alright," he said. "It's not going to be forever."

"I know, but I've never been off the saddle for that long before," Serenity said. She was overwhelmed with emotions, this had never happened her before. Windwalker slid back into her spot and they continued.

Early the next morning Apollo and Avalon were rested enough to fly again. Re and Tenor switched spots so that the King was in the lead. They began looking for the Isle of Berk Avalon and Apollo were excited about seeing their Berkian cousins. They had seen them last year the day after they hatched. They flew up along side Re, so they could be in front as well. Re didn't mind though. The two hatchlings began doing acrobats in front of the adults. Suddenly Apollo saw something on the horizon.

"Hey is that it?" he asked.

"That's it," said Re as the Isle of Berk appeared.

"Can we go on ahead?" asked Avalon.

"Yes you may," Re said. "But don't tell them about Serenity until we get there."

"Okay," said Avalon and Apollo in unison. They sped off towards the island, racing each other. They soon zipped over the docks and the village. They landed in the plaza and looked around. The village was very quiet, no one was up yet.

"Where is every one?" asked Avalon.

"They probably decided to sleep in," said Apollo. He sneezed out a jet of red flames.

"Bless you," said Avalon. "Let's look around, while we wait."

"Good idea," said Apollo. They began walking around the village, starting with the great hall. They went inside and gasped at the sheer size of the room.

"Didn't Mama say she crashed into this room?" asked Apollo, as Avalon lit the big fire pit with her jade green flames.

"Yeah she did," she said. "Hey look pictures." She went over to the Chief Wall of Fame, where portraits of past chiefs and their sons hung.

"Wow, those are really big humans," said Apollo.

"Hey look that must Hiccup," said Avalon, pointing to the last portrait.

"He's a lot smaller than the others," said Apollo.

"I wonder what happened to his leg," said Avalon. "Daddy just said he lost when he was young." At that moment the doors to the great hall opened and the two young dragons spun around. Hiccup came in with Toothless at his heels.

"Here you guys are," Hiccup said. "Your parents are looking for you."

"Oh okay," said Apollo. He and Avalon ran back outside to find the other Draconians in the plaza. The village was awake by now and gathered around there allies. The two young dragons ran into the plaza and stood next to Aurora.

"Are guys going to move back into Dragon Island?" asked Hiccup. "It was nice having you at hand."

"It was nice," said Re. "I plan to turn the volcano into another castle and make it a summer home. So you will still have us at hand but only during the summer."

"We don't get very long summers here," said Hiccup. "Nor very warm ones."

"Neither do we," Re said. "I've seen very heavy blizzards mid summer in our lands." At that moment Chris dismounted off Windwalker, then Serenity got off Tenor. She almost fell over when she hit the ground. Tenor steadied her with his strong neck.

"What's wrong with her?" asked Astrid. "She sick?"

"Nope," Re said excitedly. "She's pregnant." Everyone gasped at this news.

"Really?" said Astrid.

"Yes, we discovered it yesterday," Serenity said, still clinging to her dragon's neck.

"When are you...?"

"Nine months," Serenity answered Valka. "In just one month I have to give up Dragon Riding and healing for eight months." She seemed sad about it as she stood on her own to feet.

"So I want to spend my last month riding out here," Serenity continued.

"You should sit down," Valka said, who had had children before.

"Good idea," Serenity said. "But I don't think I can mount Tenor now, It'll make me lightheaded."

"I'll walk you up to your hospital," Chris said. He put his hand around her shoulders and led her away, Windwalker followed.

"Eight month without riding?" said Astrid.

"Hmm, she's not looking forward to it," said Aurora. "And that's not all she'll have to give up in a month. I've recently read up on what pregnant women should avoid and among that list were: heat, smoke. And reptiles."

"What no dragons at all?" said Hiccup. "That's a lot to give up."

"Sure is," Re said. "So we plan to keep her safe in our castle with Chris, while we start the construction of the Dragon Island Castle."

"Can we help in any way?" asked Hiccup.

"No thanks," Re said politely. "We just dropped by to visit."

"How long are you staying?" asked Hiccup.

"One night," Re said. "We plan to head to Dragon Island this time tomorrow."

Up at the dragon hospital Serenity sat in her chair in the shade of her golden apple tree. Chris sat next to her, holding her hand. Windwalker laid in the lawn of Dragonnip next to her rider.

"Are you willing to do this?" Windwalker asked Serenity.

"Yes," Serenity said. "I know dragons will be back in my life once this baby is born."

"And you'll be able to carry him with you in the saddle," Chris said.

"And soon he'll find a dragon of his own," Serenity said. "Of course we don't even know if it's a boy or girl."

"Mom will know," Chris said. "She already saw you getting pregnant."

"She said she saw a white flower, that was courageous, noble, and a bit daring," Serenity said.

"There is actually a flower that symbolizes all that," Chris said. "It's called Edelweiss, it grows in the European Alps. I looked it up."

"Edelweiss," Serenity repeated. "Nice word." At that moment the Draconian dragons came up the hill. Avalon and Apollo began playing in the Dragonnip.

"You doing any better?" Tenor asked his rider.

"Yes," said Serenity. She leaned back in her chair.

"Can we go exploring Mama?" Avalon asked, looking at the woods.

"Yes you may," said Aurora. "I'll summon you when it's time to come back, be careful." The two young dragons spread their wings and took off.

They flew over the island, through the trees. They landed after a while, right at the edge of the Cove. They looked down into it. The Cove looked the same has it did when Toothless lived there. The pond rippled in the breeze and the dragons could see small fish. At the shore of the pond was the pavilion of tree roots, covered in moss. To the young dragons the place felt enchanted, as though ferries lived there, or there were water nymphs in the pond. The dragons spread their wings and glided into the Cove.

"This place is beautiful," said Avalon.

"Yeah, you think they're any mermaids in that pond?" asked Apollo.

"It's too small," said Avalon. "Mama says mermaids live in big, deep lakes that have a river to the ocean."

"Oh," said Apollo sadly. "I was hoping there were other creatures of myth out here, as well as dragons." He went over the edge of the pond and watched the fish swim around. He went into a crouch, swinging his tail back and forth, his eyes fixed on his prize. Then one salmon stopped right in front of him. He pounced on it, and missed. He splashed around in the pond trying to get his fish, but all he got was wet. Avalon laughed at him. Apollo stopped and glared at her.

"What and I suppose you can do better?" he snapped. Avalon smirked at him and joined him in the pond. She stopped and stuck her head into the water looking for fish. She was very patient. Apollo watched her, he couldn't help but be intrigued. Avalon continued looking for fish. Then a nice big one swam passed her mouth. As quick as a snake she snagged it and pulled it out of the water. It wriggled but Avalon held firm. Then she tossed it to shore where it flapped around. She ran out of the water and pinned it down with her talons. She roasted it with her jade green fire. Apollo came out of the water as well. The fish was too large to swallow whole, so Avalon split it in half.

"Heads or tails?" she asked Apollo.

"Tails," said Apollo. Avalon threw him the fish's tail and he caught it. He and his sister sat under the pavilion and ate the fish.

When they were done they left the Cove and continued exploring. As they went about their business they failed to see a small group of bandits dressed armor made of steel and leather. They all held weapons and sat on the backs of horses. They watched the young dragons fly and play freely. Avalon and Apollo flew to the far side of the island. They perched on a tall plateau and looked out at the sea. The sun was setting turning the water gold.

"Avalon look," said Apollo. He pointed to a ship hiding between two sea stacks. It looked like a huge viking ship with a horse head on the prow instead of a dragon head. The symbol on the big sail was a celtic cross. It gave the two dragons a sense of foreboding. They moved closer to each other.

"Let's get out of here," said Apollo. He and Avalon took off again and headed back the way they came. The sense of foreboding only got worse. Suddenly bolas came at them and bound their wings and legs. They crashed to the ground wriggling. Then they heard the whinnies of horses and the sound hooves. They surrounded the frightened dragons. The men mounted on the horses threw water at them, preventing them from breathing fire. Then one man got off his horse and approached them. He knelt down holding chains and shackles. Avalon snapped her jaws at him, Apollo did the same. The man just laughed.

"Fighty little dragons aren't you," he mocked. He then kicked both dragons in the head, stunning them. This gave him the opportunity to replace the bolas with metal shackles and chains. He then muzzled them with metal bands covered in leather. The man stood up and tugged harshly on the chains and the little dragons got up.

"Lets go devils," said the man harshly. He tied one end of the chain to his saddle and mounted his horse. The men began riding off, dragging Apollo and Avalon behind them. They headed back to their ship, leaving behind Apollo's crown which had fallen off when the man kicked him in the head. The men dragged the victims away, Apollo and Avalon weren't able to respond to their mother's homing spell, which just appeared.


	2. Chapter 2

Aurora paced up and down between the golden apple tree and the house. Serenity was still sitting in her chair. Chris sat next to Windwalker. Re was on the ledge over the house, and Tenor laid beside Serenity's chair. Aurora had sent out her homing spell several times, and got no answer.

"Oh where are they?" she said stressed. "They should have been back by now."

"Should we go look for them?" asked Chris. "They may be wounded."

"Good idea," said Aurora. "We can ask the riders for help." Re glided down from his perch and folded his wings.

"You guys get a head start," he said. "I'll ask Hiccup." They all nodded and got to their feet. Chris helped Serenity up. Re took off and headed for the plaza. Aurora looked at her daughter-in-law.

"You okay riding?" she asked.

"Yes ma'am," Serenity said. "If I get tired I'll ride back here." Aurora nodded. Chris mounted Windwalker and Serenity mounted Tenor. She already had her medical bag on her saddle. They took off and flew over the island. Chris and Windwalker flew next to Serenity and Tenor.

The riders joined them and they turned the island up side down. When they finished searching from the air they landed and searched from the ground. They found no traces of Apollo or Avalon. They were losing daylight fast. Serenity and Tenor cantered through the woods. Chris was nearby with Windwalker. Tenor entered a clearing and came to a stop. They looked around for clues. Then Serenity spotted something gleaming in the dying light on the ground.

"Tenor look," she said. He followed her gaze as she dismounted. She went over to the item and picked it up, it was Apollo's crown. Serenity exchanged a glance with Tenor. The dragon threw his head back and shot a plasma blast into the sky, signaling the others.

"You think they're still alive?" Serenity asked, close to tears. Tenor nuzzled her shoulder. She hugged his head, still clutching the crown. The other dragons and riders landed in the clearing.

"What did you find?" Aurora asked. Serenity let got of Tenor and showed them the crown.

"I found this on the ground," she said sadly. Re and Aurora stared at the crown in shock.

"Skullcrusher what can you pick up?" asked Tenor. Skullcrusher immediately sniffed the area.

"I smell horse," he said, with Serenity translating for the riders. "And there it foreign human smell. I can also smell the Prince and Princess, I can only conclude that they've been captured by foreigners." Re growled, then threw back he head and let out a loud roar of fury at the sky. He lowered his head back down, seething in anger.

"Hey where's Hiccup and Chris?" asked Eret. "Shouldn't they have been here?" The group had been so fixated on the crown that they failed to noticed that the two Night Furies and their riders had no shown up.

"Chris went that way last I saw him," Serenity said.

"And where was Hiccup last seen?" asked Re, calming down.

"Closer to the village," said Gobber. Re turned to Serenity and Tenor.

"You should head back to the village and rest," he told Serenity. "Keep your eyes open for Hiccup and Toothless. And if you find them help them get back to the village, we will meet you there."

"What about Chris?" Serenity asked, worried.

"We'll find him," said Aurora. "Try no to worry." Serenity just nodded and reluctantly mounted her dragon. She turned him in the direction of the village and they ran off. The others went the other direction, some flew some ran. They called out for Chris and Windwalker. It was Aurora who found Chris sprawled on the ground unconscious, and no Windwalker in sight. Aurora sent up a fire signal the ran to her eldest son's side. She nudged him and luckily he stirred. He opened his eyes and looked around.

"Mom?" he said.

"Are you okay?" Aurora asked.

"I think so," Chris said. Aurora helped him sit up, he seemed weak.

"What happened?" Aurora asked.

"I'm not sure," Chris said as the others arrived.

"Where's Windwalker?" asked Re. Chris looked around for his dragon. He quickly got to his feet, so fast that he had to lean on his mother for a few minuets.

"What happened?" asked Astrid.

"I remember riding Windwalker through the woods," Chris said. "Then something hit her in the neck and she passed out. Then I felt something hit me in the neck and I passed out."

"You were attacked?" said Snotlout. "And I'm guessing these were the same vermin that took Apollo and Avalon."

"It would seem so," said Re, he was still angry. "I wonder who else they've taken?"

"Well if Hiccup is missing as well then I'm guessing they took Toothless as well," said Aurora.

"It's getting dark," said Valka. "We should head back, we can plan a rescue tomorrow." Re nodded.

"Alright," he said weakly. Aurora walked up beside him and nuzzled his neck.

"They'll be okay," she whispered in Dragontongue. "I can foresee it." The riders mounted their dragons, Chris mounted his dad, and they flew back towards the village.

Tenor galloped like a shadow through the darkening woods. Serenity was starting to feel tired, she hadn't slept at all the night before. She couldn't see anything in the dark, but she trusted Tenor.

"Are we nearly there?" she asked.

"Yes, just old on," Tenor said. He ran faster. He came into a clearing and came to a sudden halt. Serenity woke up a bit. She looked to see what had stopped him. She saw someone laying unconscious on the ground. Serenity quickly recognized the symbol on the right shoulder plate.

"Hiccup?" she said, surprised. She dismounted and ran over to him. She knelt down and gently shook him. He stirred and opened his eyes.

"What happened?" Serenity asked as she helped him sit up.

"Something hit me in the neck," Hiccup said. "And I passed out." Serenity helped him to his feet. He looked around for his dragon while Serenity got her canteen from her saddle.

"Did you see Toothless anywhere?" Hiccup asked.

"No, just you," Tenor said. Serenity handed Hiccup her canteen and he drank from it.

"Where are the others?" he asked.

"Re said to meet them at the village," Serenity said. Tenor knelt down so Serenity could mount him more easily. Hiccup got on behind her and Tenor stood up. They set off again.

"Did you find Apollo and Avalon?" Hiccup asked.

"No, Skullcrusher said they've been kidnapped by foreigners," Serenity said. "Probably the same ones that attacked you."

"We're being invaded?" Hiccup asked.

"More like robbed," said Serenity. At that moment they arrived at the cliff that overlooked the arena. Tenor ran right to the edge and flew off towards the village. He landed in the plaza where the others waited.

"Were you attacked too?" Chris asked.

"Yes," said Hiccup. "Toothless had been captured."

"So has Windwalker," said Chris. Hiccup got off Tenor and joined the group.

"What do we do know?" asked Aurora. "It's too dark to go after them and I can sense a storm coming."

"We'll set out first thing tomorrow," Hiccup said. "We will take Eret's ship incase we need to transport them if they've been injured."

"I can find them if I have a lead," Skullcrusher said, with Chris translating.

"Do you still have Apollo's crown?" Re asked Serenity. She reached into her saddlebags and pulled out the crown. She handed it to Re. Suddenly thunder boomed and lighting flashed in the distance.

"We should go to sleep," Hiccup said. "It's no use finding them in that." They all agreed and headed for the respective houses. Serenity slept in the tree with Chris and the Draconian dragons slept in the house.

Out at sea on the foreign ship, the bandits dragged Toothless and Windwalker, who were still unconscious, toward the hatch. They dropped them in like they were bags of potatoes and closed the hatch. It was very dark in the lower deck. They came around a few minuets later.

"Oh, where are we?" asked Toothless.

"On a ship from the sights and sounds," said Windwalker. Suddenly they heard movement in the dark. Both Night Furies tensed up and looked around. They could see in the dark, so it wasn't much of an obstacle. They saw two figures huddled in the corner shaking.

"Who's there?" said one of the figures. Toothless and Windwalker recognized the voice at once.

"Apollo? Avalon?" Windwalker cried. "Is that you?"

"Who's there?" Avalon asked again.

"It's Aunt Windwalker," Windwalker answered. "And Toothless." The two young dragons sat up and looked around, not able to see two black dragons in the dark.

"Where are you?" asked Apollo. "We can't see." Windwalker walked up to the two hatchlings and nuzzled them, they were still trembling.

"It's okay kids," Windwalker whispered. "We won't leave you."

"Where's Mama?" Avalon cried.

"Back on Berk," Toothless said. "She's probably looking for you." Apollo looked at the ground sadly.

"Don't worry, we'll get you guys home to your parents or die trying," said Toothless. He nuzzled the young Prince. Apollo nuzzled him back. The two Night Furies laid down and the two hatchlings snuggled close to them and each other.

"I'm scared," Avalon said.

"It's okay," Windwalker said again. "You should sleep, you'll need your strength." The young dragons snuggled even closer to the Night Furies and fell into an uneasy sleep. Soon the two adults fell asleep as well.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

On Berk, early the next morning, the storm had passed. The dragons and riders woke up and gathered at the dragon hospital. Serenity sat in her chair. As Chris strapped on his swords a thought struck him.

"Dad what are we going to do about Serenity?" he asked. Re looked at her.

"Well it's too dangerous to bring her," he said. "But I don't want to leave her here without supervision. That storm would have blown the foreign ship to the ends of the Earth by now and we could be searching for months."

"I could stay here with her," Chris offered. Serenity got to her feet and stood beside him.

"You should go rescue your siblings," she said. "I'll be fine here."

"But I don't want to leave you here alone either," Chris said.

"Cloudjumper and I will stay behind and help her," Valka volunteered. "I've been pregnant before."

"You sure?" Re asked. Valka nodded.

"And I can get Gothi to help too," she said. Re flinched slightly. He didn't exactly trust Gothi, an old woman who never said a word and was very pushy, and Re was certain she practiced witchcraft.

"Very well," he said. "I appreciate your offer thank you."

"We should get a move on," Hiccup said. "Those foreigners are getting farther and farther away as we speak." They all went down to the docks together with all their camping gear and weapons. They soon approached Eret's old trapping vessel, which had been recovered shortly after the war with Drago and the Bewilderbeast. The vikings boarded and prepared for launch.

"You sure you're going alright?" Chris asked Serenity, looking her in the eye.

"I promise you we'll be okay," she replied. "Those dragons are in more danger than we are." She then threw her arms around him and buried her face in his shoulder.

"You don't want me leave do you?" Chris said.

"Of course I don't," Serenity said. "I don't want any of you to go, but if you don't go those dragons will never be rescued and they will certainly die and I don't want that either."

"I'll try to make it back in time," Chris said. She held on tighter.

"Don't try too hard," she said. "I'll send you updates with Hermes Dragons."

"Chris we're ready to go," Re called. Serenity let go and Chris saw that she was crying. He wiped her tears away.

"I love you Serenity," he said.

"I love you too Chris," Serenity said. She hugged him one more time then he boarded the ship. Serenity pulled out a while handkerchief and dabbed at her eyes.

"Do we have Apollo's crown?" Re asked.

"Tenor has it," Serenity said. "He also has my medical bag, you'll need it."

"Thanks," Re said. "We're ready then." They lowered the sails and untied the mooring lines. Re took one of the ropes in his talons and pulled the ship out into the harbor. Once it was moving Re landed on the deck. Eret took the helm and steered it out to sea. Serenity watched it sail away, her arms wrapped around herself. She felt a nudge on her shoulder. She turned to see Cloudjumper looking at her with soft eyes. She stroked his neck and they watched the ship vanish over the horizon.

"They'll be back," Cloudjumper. Serenity suddenly broke out in sobs.

"I know," she sobbed, her voice cracking. "But I have no idea when." Cloudjumper nuzzled her. She hugged him very tightly. She felt slightly better, knowing that there was one last dragon there. After a few minuets Serenity pulled herself together and she walked with Cloudjumper back up to the hospital where Valka and Gothi waited.

On Eret's ship Chris looked back in the direction of Berk. Everyone else was sitting on the deck with their dragons saving their strength. The ship was loaded with food and other previsions so they didn't have to worry about that. Aurora was secretly using her magic to make sure the wind in the sails was healthy. Skullsrusher had already sniffed Apollo's crown and told Eret which direction to go, and Tenor translated. Re was circling the ship providing lookout. Aurora saw her eldest son still looking towards Berk, he looked lonely and worried. She went over to him and put a wing around his shoulders.

"She'll be fine Chris," she said softly. "Try not to worry too much."

"What if I don't come back with you all?" Chris asked. "She'll be destroyed."

"We'll get you back to her," Aurora said. "But first we must rescue your siblings and your friends." Chris gave a huge sigh.

"Okay," he said. "But I'll still miss her."

"We all will," Aurora said. Chris sat down on a nearby crate and his mother laid down beside him.  
>"I know it wasn't easy, leaving her there," Aurora said. "But you did the right thing."<p>

"Is she going to have a boy or girl?" Chris asked.

"It will be a girl," Aurora said. "I don't what she will name her, because she hasn't decided yet."

"What will she be like?" Chris said. "Just in case." Aurora looked disapproving of his attitude, but overlooked it.

"She will be a fine Dragon Rider," she said. "And like by earliest vision she'll be courageous, noble, and a little daring."

"Edelweiss," Chris said.

"Edelweiss?" Aurora said.

"It's a flower that symbolizes all those things," Chris said. "A white flower that grows in the Alps. I would be a good name for her."

"It would," the Queen agreed. "In face it seems inevitable." They fell quiet as the ship sailed on.

On the other ship Toothless and Windwalker woke up. They saw flecks of daylight in the wooden wall. The ship creaked and moaned as it rolled on the waves. Apollo and Avalon were still asleep. The two Nigh Furies decided to let them sleep, since there was nothing for them to do. The two adults could hear their jailers walking around up top. They were talking loudly, but loud enough to be understood. Then the hatch opened and someone dropped in a bunch of fish heads. The two Night Furies carefully got up and went over, just as the hatch closed again. Toothless sniffed the fish heads. They were quite dated, but it was food.

"Those don't look too good," Windwalker said.

"But it's all we've got," Toothless said. "And if we get sick from it, well Serenity said the best cure for food poisoning is water and sleep."

"We don't have any water," Windwalker pointed out. She sniffed at the fish heads. "They don't smell rotted." At that moment the Prince and Princess woke up. They looked sad to realize they were only free in their dreams.

"What are you two looking at?" asked Apollo. He and Avalon went over to see what they were looking at.

"How are you two this morning?" Toothless asked.

"We still want to go home," said Avalon. Windwalker nuzzled her.

"We'll get you home," she said. "But we can't make an escape attempt until we reach land."

"How come?" Apollo asked.

"Because we're in the middle of the ocean and Toothless can't fly," said Windwalker. Toothless swung his tail around so the younglings could see his red tail fin. They both gasped at it.

"I thought that was just war paint," said Avalon. She nudged it wit her snout. "Did it hurt?"

"Yes," Toothless said. "It hurt so much that I passed out." Avalon nuzzled him sympathetically.

"I'm sorry," she said.

"It's okay," Toothless said. "It makes me unique among dragons." At that moment Apollo saw the fish heads.

"Hey fish," he said.

"It's bad fish," said Windwalker.

"Bad fish?" asked Apollo.

"If you eat it you'll get sick," Windwalker explained. Avalon sniffed the fish heads. They did smell off. She nosed through the pile, sniffing for the freshest one. She found one that wasn't too expired and pulled it out. It was a huge tuna head. Windwalker sniffed it.

"This one's still fresh," she said. "But there's only enough for two." Avalon put the tuna head down and sniffed for the next freshest and found a nice big salmon head.

"This one's good too," she said. "Apollo and I will have that one you Night Furies can have the tuna head. She picked up the salmon head and split it in half. She gave one have to her brother, while the two Night Furies split the tuna. They burned the rest of the fish heads so they wouldn't rot and stink up the deck. The dragons then went back to their spot in the corner.

"Maybe we could burn through the haul and slip out into the water," Apollo suggested.

"And be lost at sea," said Toothless. "I can't fly remember?" Apollo looked at the tail fin again.

"I thought Hiccup rigged your tail so you could fly with out him," Windwalker said.

"I can glide for as long as the wind will let me," Toothless said. "But I can't turn or take off. I would feel better if we waited for rescue on a beach."

"Have it your way," said Windwalker. "But maybe we can get some light in here." She turned her attention to the wall and shot a plasma blast at the wall. It blew a big hole in the haul and sunlight streamed in. The dragons waited to see if that landed them in trouble. And a few minuets later the hatch opened. A man in a kilt and a white shirt came down a ladder that was lowered. He was met by loud growls and shiny teeth. The man screamed and scurried back up the ladder and closed the hatch. The dragons began to look around the deck. It was mainly empty except for a few benches, chains, and barrels. Avalon went to inspect the barrels and could smell mead inside.

"I wonder how Serenity's doing with that baby of hers," said Windwalker.

"Mama said humans grow slower in side their mothers that dragons do inside their eggs," said Apollo.

"Serenity said nine months," Windwalker said. "Nine months with no dragons in her life."

"Why no dragons?" Toothless asked.

"Because apparently reptiles can give her, and her baby salmonella," Windwalker said.

"So she can't be around any reptiles."

"Sad, really sad," Toothless said. "How do we know this isn't the human gods trying to pry dragons out her life forever."

"Oh, rubbish," Windwalker scoffed. "Dragons are family to her, she won't give them up. She just has to take a break from them." Suddenly they heard squeaking in the shadows, followed by shuffling. The two young dragons became alert.

"What's making that noise?" Apollo asked.

"Rats," Avalon said. "Mama said rats were going to be one of the world's biggest downfalls. I fact rats are going to kill more humans than dragons are."

"How?" Toothless asked. "They're so small."

"Mama said humans will sick from something from rats," Avalon said. "A huge amount of humans will die from this illness. It won't be pretty either."

"What illness?" Windwalker asked.

"It will have the word black in it," Apollo said. "And it has no cure, it comes from rat fleas and when rats come to Europe on merchant ships, the human world will fall apart. It will kill 200 million people."

"Wow, all from rats?" said Toothless.

"Yeah, but it won't happen until long after the viking age," said Avalon. "And dragons won't be effected."

"I bet I could hunt one of those rats," Apollo said. "I'm good at hunting small things." He went into a crouch, swinging his tail. He kept his eyes on the base of the wall, waiting for a rat to show itself. Then one did, and Apollo pounced. He pinned the rat down by the tail. But it wriggled free and ran off. Apollo chased it all around the deck. The other dragons watched in amusement as Apollo chased the rat. He knocked over the barrels and benches, and scattering the other rats.

"Has he done this before?" Toothless asked.

"Fail to catch what he's hunting? Sure," said Avalon. "He couldn't catch a fish yesterday." Then suddenly she looked sad. "Back when we were free." She laid down beside her aunt. She didn't even see her brother finally snag the rat by the tail, all out of breath.

"I got it," he cried triumphantly. The rat struggled. Avalon suddenly felt sorry for the rat.

"Apollo, let it go," she said sadly. "I can't stand to see anything trapped right now." The Prince looked surprised, but let the rat go. Windwalker laid down beside Avalon, and they were joined by Toothless and Apollo. Avalon was close to tears and snuggled close to Windwalker. Toothless got up and looked out the hole. He didn't see any land in sight. Nor did he see a way out.

"Looks like we're stuck here," he said. "Until the ship docks." He sat beside the others again. Windwalker nuzzled he niece.

"I'm so glad you guys are here," Avalon said. "Now we won't be so alone in this nightmare."

"And we won't leave you," said Windwalker. "In fact while we're waiting here, how about we teach you two how to fight?" Both young dragons woke up a bit at this.

"Really?" said Apollo.

"Great idea," Toothless said. "It will help make and escape attempt more successful."

"Okay," said Avalon. "Mama and Papa taught us basic defense skill, and they could use some improvements."

"Well, we have a long time to wait, so let's get started," said Windwalker.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Back on Eret's ship the group were having lunch. The dragons were fishing, except for Tenor who was asleep. He had two empty places in his dragon heart, one for his mate and one for his rider. He also missed his niece and nephew, and his cousin. But those two had left the biggest empty spots. He dreamed that they were all together under Serenity's apple tree, along with her new born baby. Then the dream shifted to just him, Serenity, and Chris and Windwalker flying low and fast over open ocean while whales and dolphins jumped around them. Tenor woke up after the last vision. A few hours had passed and the sun was drifting towards sunset. The other dragons had finished catching fish and were sitting around talking, the riders were all dozing in the sunlight. Tenor got to his feet and came out into the sunlight.

"What's wrong Tenor? You're up awfully early," said Aurora.

"Can't sleep," Tenor said. "I miss my friends too much." All the dragons exchanged a glance. Tenor almost never got emotional. He was usually eager for the thrill of adventure, and itching to fight bad guys. He spread his wings and took off. He walked up to the bow of the ship and laid down, watching the ocean. He was hoping to catch a glimpse of the ship that had started all this. But hope left as soon as it had come when Tenor realized that the ocean was the biggest thing on earth and there were millions of ships sailing on it. He knew that if he did see a ship on the horizon it would be a fat chance of it being the right one. The sun sank lower and lower. Some of the riders went flying, to keep their skills sharp. Tenor never took his eyes of the horizon. Then suddenly he saw the spout of a huge whale. He jumped to his feet.

"Hey guys look!" he announced. They all looked at the whale as it spouted again. They didn't see much of the whale just it's spout and its hump. But the whale seemed to be swimming towards the ship. It looked huge, dwarfing the ship. It got closer.

"It's coming this way," said Astrid. "It's so big."

"I thought only dragons got that big," said Fishlegs. Re rolled his eyes.

"And they get even bigger," said Aurora. "That I think is a Humpback Whale." The whale spouted again then dove back in with a wave of its tail.

"Oh, it's gone," said Astrid, disappointed.

"Yeah, probably got bored watching this ship," said Eret. Then suddenly the whale breached out of the water then splashed back first into the water again. They all ooed and awed at the big splash the animal made. A few minuets later the whale spouted again. Then it rolled over and waved a long, white flipper in the air, before slapping down again.

"What's it doing that for?" asked Fishlegs.

"Probably waving at Astrid," said Snotlout smugly. Astrid ignored him and focused on the whale. It waved its tail in the air then slapped the water with it.

"Can we get closer to it?" asked Fishlegs.

"No, we have to move on," said Hiccup. "And I'm sure that whale has things to do as well."

"We won't keep him then," said Re. Aurora secretly used her magic to increase the wind in the sails and the ship picked up speed.

"Seems the wind is on our side," said Eret. He went back to the helm with Skullcrusher. The sun was just about to start vanishing over the horizon. The whale was soon long gone and the ocean was quiet. Tenor took off to go fishing and to take up night patrol. He watched the sun go away and the stars greeted him like they always did. The wind picked up a bit, that wasn't Aurora's magic. The ship rolled on the waves. Tenor didn't go to far from the ship, though he was an expert navigator. He circled as far out as he dared, keeping the ship in his sight. Everyone on board was sound asleep except for Eret who looked like he was about to fall asleep at the helm. Tenor flew down and landed next to him.

"Oh, I forgot you were nocturnal," Eret said.

"Lot's of folks do," Tenor said. "You look like you're about to pass out."

"I'm okay I've had worse," Eret said. "Besides Gobber's about to come up and take over."

"Oh, okay," Tenor said. He spread his wings and flew off again.

Elsewhere in the dark ocean the kidnapped dragons were wrapping up their fighting lesson. Avalon and Apollo had been at it all day. The two Night Furies had given them a goal to achieve before the ship reached shore. The two young dragons had to get passed their defenses, pinch them in their soft spots, and knock them out, without getting hit themselves. It was much harder than it looked the both adult dragons had been fighting a lot longer than the Prince and Princess. By the end of the day the poor younglings were exhausted and winded. They weren't allowed to breathe fire, incase they burned the ship down. Apollo and Avalon stood at one end of the deck and the two Night Furies were at the other end. They were going to try one last attempt before calling it a night. Apollo roared and ran at the adults really fast. Avalon snuck along the wall unseen. Apollo pounced at Toothless, only to have him whip his tail around and sent him flying back across the deck. He slammed into the floor, his armor prevented any injuries. Then the two Night Furies began looking around for Avalon. They had been so fixated on Apollo that they forgot to keep track of his sister. Then Windwalker felt something run up her tail and onto her back. Toothless turned and saw Avalon sitting on Windwalker's back, where she could not be touched. Toothless silently notified Windwalker. She growled, and waited for Avalon to make her move. But before she could make it Windwalker bucked her off and Avalon joined her brother on the floor.  
>"Nice job both of you," said Windwalker. "You almost had it Avalon, but you hesitated. Next time when you see your chance you take it as fast as you can." The two younglings got to their feet.<p>

"How did I do?" Apollo asked.

"Very clever distracting us from Avalon," Toothless said. "But you can't always be a distraction, you should try to make a move as well."

"We were trying to work together," said Avalon.

"And there's nothing wrong with that," said Windwalker. "But you're going to have to work together to bring down both of us not just one of us." The two young dragons looked at the Nigh Furies, with hopless faces.

"Man this is hard," said Apollo, sitting on his haunches.

"You're just starting out," said Windwalker. "Don't give up. Let's get some sleep, we can try again tomorrow." Both Night Furies laid down in their corner and Apollo and Avalon laid beside them, snuggling close. They all fell asleep in minuets.

Day after day both ships sailed closer to their destinations. They saw nothing but ocean for days. Toothless and Windwalker continued training the Prince and Princess, teaching them every trick they knew. The young dragons caught on very quick, but were still unable to reach their goal. Their jailers paid them no heed, except in the mornings when they dropped more fish heads down the hatch. The dragons would pause in their training to pick out the freshest fish heads they could find, and throw the rest into the ocean. Once in a while the young dragons would snack on a rat or two. They rationed the rats, as there was a limited number of them. Despite the fact that they were stuck and had no way of getting home, the dragons were quite happy when they were together training and telling stories. The time flew by, and they lost track of how long they were at sea.

It was the same on Eret's ship. They watched the sun set and rise. Re and Aurora provided lookout in the daytime and Tenor at night. They saw more wildlife; birds, dolphins, whales, and wild dragons. It kept them entertained while they sailed swiftly through the water. Then one day the dragons and riders woke up to the loud calls of sea birds. They all ran to the side of the ship to see what the commotion was about. The birds were diving into the water. In the water the dragons and riders could see the fins of sharks, and blue fin tuna. Then a huge Sei Whale surfaced and filled its gullets with water and fish.

"What's going on out there?" asked Eret.

"There's a huge school of fish big enough to feed all those animals," said Re. He spread his wings and flew over to the activity. The other dragons followed him, promising their riders that they would return when they had their fill. The dragons joined the other animals. The fish they were eating were sardines. The dragons and the birds dove into the water and snagged as many fish as they could. The ocean was crazy with all the animals splashing around. Tunas jumped out of the water, followed by the whale. All the animals were vary carful not to get snagged by the dragons, they were also weary of the ship.

After a while the activity ceased and the animals disbursed. The dragons flew back to the ship, each with a fish in their talons. They landed on the deck, quite full. They shook the water off their scales and wings.

"Oh, that was lovely," said Aurora with a groan.

"Do you do that often?" asked Fishlegs.

"Not as often as we like," said Re, flapping his wings dry. "We some times have to fly a long way, and for days do find food that plentiful." He folded his wings.

"What was that whale that was out there?" Chris asked.

"That was a Sei Whale," said Aurora. "Similar to that Humpback we saw a few days ago." She used her magic to increase the wind in the sails. The dragons rested after that feast and some fell asleep. Re took the leftover fish and put it with the rest of the previsions. Then he took over as lookout.

On the other ship the two Night Furies and the two Whippertails were taking a break from training. Apollo and Avalon caught one rat each. Then they sat next to the two adults and munched the rats. Windwalker draped her wing around them.

"You two have improved a great deal," she said.

"But we still can't knock you out," Apollo said with a mouthful of rat.

"Hey how did your rider loose his leg?" Avalon asked Toothless. "Mama and Papa won't say."

"They weren't there," Toothless said. "Hiccup lost his leg in a big battle when we fought the big bad queen." Avalon looked insulted.

"My mama isn't bad," she said.

"No, not your mother," Toothless said. "A different queen. She was corrupted by her power over the dragons. She forced them to find food for her. They raided Berk and stole their sheep and chickens. The vikings began killing them to fend them off. I was among them. Then Hiccup shot me down and that's how I lost my tail fin. He came looking for me in the woods the following morning."

"Did he save your life?" asked Apollo.

"He didn't save it no," said Toothless. "He spared it. He held his dagger over me and was about to kill me, but he didn't. Instead he used his dagger to cut the ropes the bound me. When I was free I pinned him down and thought about killing him. But I couldn't do it, he spared my life and I couldn't ignore it. So I spared his life and flew away. I was trapped in a cove all alone."

"A cove?" said Apollo. "Did it have a pond? And a pavilion made of tree roots?"

"Yes, that's the one," Toothless said. "Anyway Hiccup came to visit me in the Cove, and we got to know each other a little bit. He brought me a cod as a peace offering. I guess that's when he gave me my name, when he saw that I had retractable teeth. From that day on we became good friends, he built me a new tail fin so I could fly again. Then Hiccup's friend Astrid found out about me and we took her for a ride. That's when they found out about the bad queen, known as the Red Death. After that Hiccup took pity on our kind and hoped to put an end to the war. He went to the kill ring where I guess he was supposed to kill a Monstrous Nightmare, Hookfang. But instead of killing him Hiccup tried to make friends with Hookfang, then his father did something stupid and it set Hookfang off. Hiccup was so scared that I could hear his screams from my cove. I was fueled by adrenaline and that helped me escape the cove. I ran as fast as I could and got to the arena just in time to pull Hookfang off Hiccup. I fought him off and he ran into his cage, with his tail between his legs. But then the vikings began flooding into the arena. I thought they meant to hurt Hiccup. He told me to run, but I refused to leave his side. The Chief of the vikings came running at us with a weapon, roaring at the top of his lungs. I pounced on the man and pinned him down. I was about to kill him when Hiccup ordered me to stop. I turned to face him, then I was pinned down by more vikings and put in chains. Hiccup tried to save me but couldn't. I was dragged to the docks where they chained me to a plank of wood and put on a ship. The ships set out for Dragon Island to fight the Red Death. When we got there the Red Death burst out of the mountain and fought the vikings. She set the ships on fire. I was completely trapped and was about to burn to death when Hiccup and the other Dragon Riders came to the rescue. While the other riders distracted the Red Death, Hiccup dropped onto the ship and tried to free me from the chains but failed. Then the Red Death stepped on the ship sending the two of us into the water. I sank to the bottom and Hiccup swam down to me. He blacked out just before his father, Stoic, grabbed him and swam him back to the surface. I readied myself to meet my maker when Stoic returned for me. He broke me out of my bonds and I swam up to the surface where Hiccup was waiting. He got on my back and together we fought the Red Death. We drew her high into the clouds where my stealthiness would play a big roll. We zipped in and out of hiding, and I blasted the Red Death's wings. But then she filled the air with fire and it caught my prototype tail fin on fire. Finally Hiccup and I lead the Red Death into a dive back towards the ground. When she opened her mouth to shot fire at us, I spun around and shot a plasma blast into her mouth setting her gas on fire. Then I flew out of the way as the Red Death hit the ground in a huge explosion. I flew up her tail trying to get us to safety, but then my fin fell off and we hit the club at the end of the tail at full force. It knocked Hiccup out of my saddle. I saw him falling into the explosion and dived after him. I managed to catch him just before he got burned. I wrapped my wings around him and we crashed into the ground really hard. I broke several bones. Hiccup was in worse shape, his leg was broken beyond repair. Well anyway that's how he lost his leg, but he did survive that battle. He was only fifteen at the time." Everyone was quiet after the story ended.

"How did you recover from your injuries?" asked Avalon. "You must have suffered a lot of damage."

"Serenity," Toothless said. "She arrived on Berk a few days after the battle. She was hoping to just spend one night then go on her way. But then she heard that I was injured and they had no way of helping me. She offered to fix me up and got right to work. She fixed up all my injuries and I recovered before Hiccup woke up from his coma. Hiccup and I were so impressed by her work that we asked her to stay and be the Dragon Healer, since Berk had many human healers but no Dragon Healers. luckily she accepted, Stoic had already asked her to stay and she said she would be the Dragon Healer as long as she didn't have to fight."

"That's quite a story," said Apollo. Avalon nuzzled Toothless again.

"I bet you were magnificent in that battle," she said.

"Not really," Toothless said. "Anyway we should get back to training."

"Okay," said the two Whippertails in unison. All four dragon resumed their training.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

A few night later on Eret's ship the dragons sat at the back of the ship, under the driving deck. The stars and moon were out and the wind pushed the ship along. The vikings were below decks getting some sleep. Except for Chris, he sat among the dragons. All was quiet. They had been at sea for almost two months.

"Shouldn't we be there by now?" asked Hookfang. "We've been at sea a really long time and not a speck of land in sight."

"Well Skullcrusher says we're heading in the right direction," said Stormfly. "So we will get there, even though we don't know where there is." At that moment there came a squawk from the sky and a yellow Hermes Dragon flew in front of Chris and dropped a scroll of parchment in his lap. The dragon waited around for orders while Chris unrolled the scroll.

"What does it say?" asked Tenor. Chris read the letter aloud.

_Dear Chris,_

_I'm sorry I haven't written it's been overwhelming these past few weeks. The baby is growing bigger every day. Dose Aurora know what it is yet? Anyway Valka is a very good midwife, she makes sure the two of us get through this successfully. Though Gothi is very pushy and stubborn. She won't let Cloudjumper near me nor will she let me sleep in the tree, she makes me sleep in the house. Valka is able to interpret what Gothi writes in the sand, it creeps me out when Gothi doesn't talk. But I'm not saying that out loud. Cloudjumper sneaks into my hospital whenever I'm by myself, while Gothi is looking after other patients and Valka's running the village. That dragon is very easy to talk to and fun to be around, but then again that just sums up every dragon I've met. So enough about us, how are things going in the rescue? I want to know everything, it gets pretty boring sitting here doing nothing. I feel so useless here, I wish I could help out there. So keep me updated, and I will do the same. I'll use this same Hermes Dragon for the remainder of these nine months. I'll let you all get some rest, good night. I miss you lots._

_Love,  
>Serenity.<em>

As Chris finished reading the dragons looked concerned.

"She's not supposed to be around dragons," said Aurora. "She could really harm her baby, why would she let Cloudjumper into her hospital?"

"I'm sure she wants some one to talk to," said Tenor. "While the other two are busy, and I'm sure he'll keep an eye on her incase something goes wrong."

"Still she's putting our baby in great danger," Chris said. "I should write back to her." He grabbed another sheet of parchment and a charcoal pen and began writing back.

**_Serenity you shouldn't let Cloudjumper into the hospital. What if something happens? I know he would never hurt you deliberately, but the baby could get salmonella, or some other disease. I know it's hard for you to have no dragons around, but do it for our daughter's sake. And yes, Mom says it's a girl. She likes the name Edelweiss, what do you think? Our quest is going slowly. We have not seen any sign of land, but we're going in the right direction according to Skullcrusher. We saw a huge feeding frenzy a few days ago, it was crazy. There were birds, sharks, tuna, and a huge Sei Whale, all feeding on sardines. Our dragons joined them and it was quite a show. And a few days before that we saw a huge Humpback Whale. It was really cool. I know you want to help, but don't think yourself useless. You have a baby to focus on now. You worry about her and we'll worry about the rescue. We all miss you too, especially me and Tenor. That's all that's happened so far. I love you._**

**_Chris._**

Chris rolled up the letter and gave it to the Hermes Dragon. She gripped it in her talons and flew off. The night was quiet again. Chris watched the ocean. The dragons all fell asleep, except for Tenor who took off for his night patrol. Aurora used her magic to increase the ship's speed. An hour later the Hermes Dragon returned and gave Chris another letter from Serenity. Chris read it to himself.

_Don't worry Chris, Cloudjumper keeps his distance when he visit me. I stay on the ground and he perches on a tree branch. He's well aware of the danger he poses to the baby. But to make you happy I've asked him to stop coming, with a heavy heart. I like the name Edelweiss it's very unique and a really nice word. A feeding frenzy is always fun to watch, you get to see hundreds of animals in one place. I've only seen one in the past, but it was cool. Maybe when this all over we can go flying over whales again, I miss doing that. Try not to worry too much about us, Lord Draco is watching us I know it. He'll make sure we all get through this. He told me himself in a vision. I'm getting tired now so I'll wrap up here, I look forward to your safe and successful return.  
>Love,<br>Serenity & Edelweiss._

Chris felt better that the baby was safe. But he couldn't help but be worried about the two of them. Serenity had never had dragons out of her life for so long, and she was most likely missing them. Chris got up and went to where his dad was sleeping. Being careful not to wake him, Chris reached into his saddlebag and bulled out a large block of wood and a wood carving knife. He went back to his seat and began carving something out of the block of wood.

Elsewhere in the ocean a the next morning Toothless and Windwalker woke up before Apollo and Avalon did. The two Night Furies went to wake them up, they had a full day of training a head of them. Windwalker aroused Avalon first. The young Princess opened her eyes and sat up. She stretched her limbs and wings.

"Come on we have to get started," Windwalker said. Toothless went over to Apollo to get him up. He nudged him, but got no response.

"Wake up Apollo," Toothless said. The Prince just lay there. Windwalker and Avalon came over to help. Toothless nudged Apollo harder. Toothless looked over at Windwalker and was about to ask for a suggestion when Apollo woke up, rolled onto his back, and pinched Toothless in the soft spot. The Night Fury collapsed right on top of Apollo.

"Ha! I win!" he cried. Then he wormed his way out from under Toothless. Then Avalon pounced on Windwalker and pinched her soft spot. She went down next to Toothless. She joined her brother and they laughed non stop.

"I didn't think that would work," said Apollo. "I guess playing dead goes along way."

"Yeah, they never saw it coming," said Avalon. "Do you think it would work on the humans?"

"Maybe," said Apollo. "Except they don't have a soft spot." Just then their came a shout from the upper deck.

"Land ho!" The two young dragons rushed to the hole in the wall and looked out. They saw mountains in the distance and the ship sailed by a few islands and sea stacks.

"Well it's about time," said Avalon. "Now lets see if we can wake up those two." The two of them ran to the Night Furies' sides and tried rousing them. Avalon pushed on Windwalker's head and Apollo pulled on Toothless's sonar flaps. When they got no response they tried other methods. Apollo bit Toothless on the tail and Avalon poked Windwalker in the eye, nothing. They gave up and laid on the backs of the two adults, Apollo on Toothless and Avalon on Windwalkr. Apollo began playing with the mechanism that controlled Toothless's red tail fin. He was so interested in this that he forgot about the approaching land.

"Hey this is pretty fun," Apollo said. He jumped to the ground and examined the saddle and mechanism. He figured with Toothless passed out he could play with all he wanted.

"You sure you should be playing with that?" said Avalon. "You could ruin it."

"It's really cool," said Apollo, ignoring his sister. Avalon jumped to the ground and stood next to him. She had to admit the mechanism was very cool to look at. She went down to the tail fin and watched it open and close. She tried to pin it down before Apollo closed it again. They made a game out of it. It was good fun. They took turns controlling the tail fin. At that moment they heard footsteps coming towards the hatch. It opened and a ladder was lowered. Apollo and Avalon abandoned their game and hid under Toothless's wing. Two man came down the ladder. They looked around the deck.

"Looks like these two didn't survive the voyage," said one man.

"Where are the two runts?" asked the other man. "Do you think they've escaped?" At that moment Apollo jumped out of his hiding place and attacked one of the men. He landed on the man's face and began chewing his nose. The man howled and tried to pry Apollo off. The other man tried to rescue his comrade but Avalon pounced on him and bit down on his behind. The other man began dancing on the spot trying in vain to get Avalon off. All the noise finally roused the two Night Furies. They went to the Whippertails' rescue. Toothless smacked Avalon's victim with his tail, stunning the man. He lost his balance and fell over. Avalon let go and ran to Toothless's side. Windwalker rammed Apollo's victim with her head. Apollo flew off and joined Avalon. The man clutched his abdomen, hunched over in pain.

"Nice work you two," said Windwalker.

"Yeah very clever sneak attack," Toothless said. "You have reached your goal." The two young dragons roared in triumph.

"Thanks for teaching us," said Avalon. "I can't wait to show Mama and Papa." Then more men came down the ladder. The dragons growled and readied themselves for another fight. Two of the men shot darts at the two Night Furies and they passed out again. Apollo and Avalon stood between them and the humans.

"You can't protect them vermin," spat one man. But that didn't stop the young dragons. Avalon shot jade green fire at them, followed by Apollo's red flames. The humans dodged the fire. One of them was handed a bucket from someone above. He threw water on the two dragons, turning off their fire. Apollo flew up to that man and clawed at his face. Avalon attacked another man that was about to gab her. With the two dragons distracted the rest of the humans put muzzles and chains on the two Night Furies. Avalon clawed the face of her victim. Then she slit his throat with her back talons. The man fell down dead. Avalon landed on top of her victim and looked at the other humans. Apollo bit the neck of his victim and that man joined the other.

"They're killers now," said one man. "How did that happen?"

"I don't know, dragons aren't supposed to be intelligent," said another man. He quickly looped chains around the two dragons' necks. Then they muzzled them as well.

"Let's get them out of here," he said. A chain was lowered into the deck and the humans hooked Toothless to it. The chain lifted the Night Fury out of the room. They continued this until all four dragons were on the top deck. The ship was now sailing up a wide river surrounded by tall, green mountains. A town rested on the banks of the river. Merchant ships and fishing vessels were docked on the piers. The ship turned and headed for an empty pier. It docked and men on the pier threw ropes to the men on the deck. Once the ship was tied down a plank was lowered. A middle aged man dressed armor came onboard the ship. They way he held himself the young dragons could guess he was importuned.

"This is all you could catch?" he snapped at the men of the ship. "Where's your captain?"

"Dead," said a sailor. "This one killed him." He pointed at Apollo.

"What?" the armored man growled. "You mean to tell me he was killed by his own merchandise? How pathetic." He went over and examined the dragons.

"What's all this they're wearing?" he asked.

"Those two had riders," said a man pointing at Toothless and Windwalker. "Probably the same ones that made that dragons armor."

"Riders huh?" said the armored man. "Mankind should never be allowed to ride a dragon, that's why God made horses." Suddenly Apollo keeled over and lay motionless. The armored man gave a cold look.

"Strip this one of its armor then throw it out," he ordered, as though he was talking about leftovers. The sailors did as they were told and Avalon watched helplessly as the men took Apollo's armor off then threw him into the river. The Princess struggled against her bonds, but they held.

"Get the rest of these things on my wagon," the armored man ordered. The sailors dragged the remaining dragons off the ship and onto a huge wagon made of iron bars and pulled by four huge draft horses. Toothless and Windwalker were loaded first, side by side. Then Avalon was tossed in on top of them. The armored man closed the cage door and padlocked it with chains and ten huge pad locks. Then a peasant got into the drive's seat while the armored man mounted an armored horse. They set off away from the pier. Avalon was the only dragon in the cage that was awake. Her mouth was tied shut so she couldn't breathe fire. She watched the river for any sign that her brother was okay. But she couldn't see him at all. The wagon turned and was now parallel to the river. The horses picked up speed and they headed away from the town.

Apollo swam through the water like a crocodile using his tail like a rudder. He went up for air every ten minuets. He was careful not to let any of the humans see him, which is why he didn't fly. He kept track of the caged wagon that held his sister and his aunt. It was going down a trail that was right next to the river. The water was murky and Apollo could hardly see a thing. So he stuck to the surface where it was a bit clearer. They went farther upriver and soon lost sight of the town. Apollo kept pace with the wagon. He had to admit that the place they had been brought to was very pretty. The sky was silver with an overcast of clouds and the hills were a healthy shade of green.

A few hours later they approached a massive lake that was the same silver grey as the sky. Apollo swam into it and was boggled at how big and deep it was. He swam to the surface and looked around for the wagon. He saw it being loaded onto a ferry. The armored man rode onto the ferry on his horse. Once all was secure the ferry set sail. Apollo stuck to the side of it, staying in the blind spot. They moved up the lake in silence. Apollo dove in and out of the water, and ducked out of sight whenever a human looked over the side. Then Apollo sensed something else in the water with him. He looked around but saw nothing. He swam back to the surface and froze. Silhouetted against the daylight Apollo could see the outline of the ferry, but he also saw the outline of something massive. It was another creature. It had a large body, long neck, narrow head, long tail with whale flukes on the end, and a pair of large pedal shaped flippers. Apollo was so surprised by the sheer size of the creature that he didn't even notice he was overdue for air. But he snapped out of it and swam back to the surface, passed the creature, and came up a good several feet behind the ferry. He had let it slip away while he was looking at the creature. He watched the ferry getting farther away, knowing he couldn't catch up with it. He treaded water with his tail and his wings, figuring out what to do now. Suddenly it got darker and he heard movement behind him. He turned and looked up at the huge creature which had come to the surface as well. It was forest green with the eyes of a fish and a huge shark's fin on top of its narrow head. It didn't have nostrils, what it did have was a whale like blowhole on top of its snout at the base of the fin. The creature looked down at Apollo.

"Hello Apollo," it said in a feminine voice. "You seem a long way from home."

"Who are you?" Apollo asked, shaking. "And how to you know my name?"

"I'm Nessie," said the creature. "I'm a Whale Dragon. I know who you are because rumor has reached my lake that our good queen had hatched two eggs. Now where is your sister?"

"She's been taken by a bad man," said Apollo. "Along with Toothless and Aunt Windwalker."

"How did you escape Sir Archibald?" asked Nessie. "No one has done it before."

"I played dead," said Apollo proudly. "But now I need to save my sister and my friends."

"Let's go then," said Nessie. She lowered her head so Apollo could climb onto it. She raised her head back up and Apollo took off. Nessie then dived into the water and Apollo followed her fin up the river.

The wagon soon came to huge castle high on a cliff, overlooking the massive silver lake. The wagon stopped in front of a huge cave with bars across it. The armored man got off his horse. Avalon struggled against her bonds again. The man banged against the bars of the cage. He turned then to his servant.  
>"Put them with the others," he ordered. "We'll get to work on them tomorrow." The peasant got off the driver's seat and over to the cage door. He opened it up as two more peasants joined him. They pulled the dragons out of the cage and towards the bared cave. Toothless and Windwalker were still out cold. The three of them were thrown into the cave and the peasants released them from their bonds, and took off all saddles and armor. Avalon tried to attack them but one man kicked her back. They then ran outside and closed the door. Avalon watched them walk back towards the castle. Then she ran to Toothless and tried rousing him.<p>

"Toothless please wake up," she begged. She pulled on his sonar flaps and that did the trick. Toothless moaned in pain as he opened his eyes.

"Where are we now?" he asked as Windwalker stirred as well.

"We're in a bared cave," said Avalon. "We got sold to an armored man."

"Where's Apollo?" asked Windwalker.

"He got away," said Avalon. "I don't know where he is."

"That's great," said Toothless. "Now we need to get away ourselves."

"That will take a miracle," said a voice in the dark. The three dragons turned and found that they were not alone in the cave. They saw a huge, orange Typhoomerang laying next to the wall, and he looked very familiar to Toothless.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

"Torch?" said Toothless surprised. The Typhoomerang looked shocked.

"Is that you Toothless?" he asked. Windwalker and Avalon looked at each other. Neither of them had met Torch before.

"Who else do you know with one tail fin?" Toothless asked, waving his tail back and forth. The peasants had taken his red fin in addition to his saddle. Torch seemed relieved.

"You know this dragon?" asked Windwalker.

"Yeah this is Torch," said Toothless. "Hiccup and I met him went he was no bigger than Avalon." The Princess looked insulted. "Torch this is Windwalker and Princess Avalon." Torch crawled over to see them better.

"Pleasure to meet you ladies," he said, winking. "You seemed to have found a fine mate old friend." Both Toothless and Windwalker blushed uncomfortably.

"She's not my mate," Toothless said. "She already has a mate, King Re's brother."

"Oh my apologies," said Torch. Suddenly there came more sounds from the dark.

"Who are you talking to Torch?" asked another voice.

"How many dragons are in here?" asked Windwalker. Torch grinned and turned towards the back of the cave.

"Why don't you all come out and see," he said. Then out of the dark came two more dragons that Toothless recognized. One was a big green Scauldron, and the other a purple and red Monstrous Nightmare.

"Scauldy and Fanghook?" Toothless said. "You got captured too?"

"Obviously," said Fanghook.

"Hey at least we got trapped with a clever dragon," said Scauldy.

"Clever my tail bone," said Fanghook. "He wouldn't even be alive if it weren't for me." At that moment Avalon sneezed.

"Bless you," said Torch. "So you're the new Princess?"

"Yeah," said Avalon. "My brother Apollo escaped." All the dragons looked surprised.

"How did he escape Sir Archibald?" asked Scauldy.

"Is that the armored man?" asked Avalon.

"Yes," said Torch. "He's been catching dragons so he can kill them for their skin, and whatever else he can find. Apparently dragon skin and blood are really valuable." Toothless gagged.

"These humans just keep getting worse and worse," said Windwalker. "Nowhere it safe."

"So anyway how did your brother escape?" asked Scauldy again.

"He played dead," said Avalon. "And they threw him into the river." She laid down on the floor. She missed her brother as much as she missed her parents, and other brother. She laid her head on her front paws.

"I hope he's okay," she said. She looked out at the lake and surrounding mountains. The adult dragons looked at each other. Then Torch lowered his head to her level.

"Don't you worry Princess," he said quietly. "I'm sure he's okay. But right now we need to find a way out of here." Avalon looked him in the eye and nodded. Then all the dragons put their heads together to plan an escape attempt.

Out in the middle of the lake Apollo was perched on Nessie's head. They were looking up at the castle that held Avalon and the two Night Furies. Nessie was keeping an eye out for anyone coming their way. While they had been looking Apollo had told Nessie about all that happened, including Serenity's baby. Nessie had explained about Sir Archibald and his plan. Apollo was now very anxious about rescuing the other three.

"Don't worry Apollo he won't kill them until tomorrow," Nessie assured him. "We have plenty of time to get them out."

"Well what do you suggest?" asked Apollo.

"Sir Archibald keeps his victims in a cave with bars over the entrance," said Nessie. "On the other side of the castle. Now I can't go on land so you'll have to find it yourself, be careful." Apollo spread his wings and took off. He flew over the lake and over the castle. He looked around for the cave. He flew lower over the area behind the castle. He soon found the cave that Nessie had described. He landed in front of it and looked through the bars.

"Avalon?" he whispered loudly. "Anyone in here?" He heard scuffling and his sister appeared at the bars. She looked so happy to see him.

"You're here," she cried. She stuck her snout through the bars and Apollo nuzzled her. Toothless and Windwalker came to the bars.

"Nice move, playing dead," said Windwalker. "But you should get out of here before Sir Archibald finds out." Apollo looked hurt.

"Yeah go find your family," said Toothless said.

"And tell them what? That I left you all here to be killed?" said Apollo. "I don't think so."

"Maybe he can help break us out," said Avalon. Apollo looked at the door and the padlock.

"Okay but not now," said Toothless. "Come back when it's dark." Apollo seemed to understand.

"See you then," he spread his wings and flew back to where Nessie waited.

Back on Eret's ship, they were still far away from any land. The wind in the sails was healthy. The riders and dragons were sparing to keep themselves from going mad with boredom. At the moment Hookfang was sparing against Aurora, who promised not to use her magic as a cheat. They circled each other. Then Hookfang spat fire at the queen. She blocked his attack with her fireproof wings. Then Hookfang charged at the queen. She ran passed him and managed to get behind him. Before Hookfang could turn around Aurora jumped onto his back and pinned him down. But Hookfang burst into flames causing the queen to bark in surprise and jump off. When she landed Hookfang slammed his tail into her, knocking her over. Before she could get up Hookfang pinned her head down with his front talons. He was so fixated on his victory he forgot to watch for her tail. She swung it around and whipped Hookfang in the side. He roared in pain and released the queen. She shoved him off and shot her blue fire at him. He dodged but just barely. Hookfang swiped his tail towards her again, but she was ready this time. She jumped on the end of his tail and held hit down. She thought about her next move very carefully. The dragons were very careful not to hurt each other; because even thought they had Serenity's medical equipment, they didn't have her skill. So Aurora had to defeat Hookfang, without actually harming him. Tricky but not impossible. She went into a crouch, still with Hookfang's tail under her talons. The Nightmare went to shoot her with his fire, but she had cleverly run him out of shots. Then she pounced on him again, clamped all four sets of talons around his neck, then rolled over. She was know laying on her back with Hookfang on top of her on his back, with her talons poking his throat. When he tried to flame up the fire didn't hurt her, because the flames burned away from her. All she had to do was slit his throat and he would be dead. But she released him. They got to their feet.

"Well done Hookfang," said Aurora. "You put up a good fight." Suddenly in the distance the group saw storm clouds in the distance. The water grew choppy. The riders and dragons were concerned.

"How does you ship handle storms?" Re asked Eret.

"Very well," Eret said. "But we have to go in the direction the storm is going to avoid getting capsized."

"So we have to go back the way we came?" asked Tenor.

"Afraid so," said Eret. Everyone groaned.

"Why don't we just fly to wherever those dragons are?" asked Snotlout. "It would be way faster."

"To late now," said Hiccup.

"And I'm getting the feeling whoever took those dragons would have Toothless's tail fin off to keep him from escaping," Aurora said. "We have no choice but to turn around until the storm passes."

"What about our friends?" asked Astrid. "We can't abandon them."

"Don't worry we're not," said Re. "And they're very smart they'll find away to escape." No one could have said it better. Re nodded for Eret to proceed and he turned the ship around. Once it was facing away from the storm clouds the wind blew it along at high speed.

Back in the bared cave the dragons were waiting for night fall. Avalon sat next to the exit waiting for her brother to return. The adults had fallen asleep so they would be well rested for their escape attempt. The sun was beginning to set. At that moment the group of peasants came back dragging something behind them. Avalon was about to wake up the adults when the humans opened up the door and threw the thing inside. They closed the door and walked off. Avalon approached the thing. It turned out to be a dragon, about her age. He was a handsome violet purple with black horns and spines. His mouth was slightly open and Avalon saw that he had black teeth like her uncle, and a long whip like tail like she had. This dragon was a Whipfang, a Whippertail and Blackfang hybrid. Avalon nudged him and he stirred. He opened his eyes, which were amber gold, and sat up.

"Where am I?" he asked.

"In a bared cave," said Avalon. "What's your name?"

"Eider," he replied. "Who are you?"

"Princess Avalon."

"Did they bring my parents in here?" Eider asked. "Have you seen them?"

"No, they just threw you in here," said Avalon. "What happened?" Eider got to his feet, he was favoring his left front paw.

"My parents and I were on our way home over this lake," he said. "But then that bad man shot us down with harpoons. Both of my parents here hit right in the heart. I managed to dodge the one headed for me. But then I was hit with a boulder. Men in boats came onto the lake to retrieve us. They knocked me out and brought me here."

"I'm very sorry," said Avalon. "But we have a plan to escape here. My brother is out there, he'll come back after dark."

"You said you were a Princess," Eider said. "Princess of what?"

"Princess of Draconia," said Avalon. "And my brother Apollo is the Prince."

"Where are your parents?" asked Eider.

"On their way here," said Avalon. "They have humans with them who can help."

"Humans!?" said Eider shocked. "It was humans that killed my parents."

"Correction, only one human killed them," said Avalon. "My parents trust these humans with their lives, and one of them is my eldest brother."

"You have a human for a brother?" asked Eider.

"He's my adopted brother," said Avalon. "My Mama and Papa raised him from a baby. He's on our side."

"If you say so," said Eider, doubtfully. At that moment the adults woke up. The two young dragons stopped their conversation.

"Where did he come from?" Fanghook asked.

"The humans just threw him in here," said Avalon. "They shot him and his parents out of the sky, his name is Eider."

"What did they do with your parents?" asked Windwalker. Eider hung his head.

"They got shot in the heat," he said. "They're dead, I'm sure of it. No dragon has survived a stab to the heart." He slumped to the ground. Avalon laid beside him, feeling very sorry for him.

"Is your paw okay?" she asked.

"It got smashed by the boulder," said Eider. "I can feel that the wrist is broken."

"I know where there's a dragon healer," said Avalon. "She's very good to our kind."

"But she can't be around dragons Avalon," said Windwalker. "I'm sorry Eider." The young dragon burst into tears. Avalon draped a wing around him.

"What am I going to do?" he wailed. "I'm all alone with a broken paw, it hurts so bad."

"Hold it out," said Avalon. "Maybe I can help." Eider held his throbbing paw out. Avalon took a deep breath, like her mother did when ever she was about to use magic. She lowered her head to Eider's paw, and let our her breath. Eider began to settle down. The pain in his paw went away.

"You have magic," he said, it wasn't a question.

"I'm still learning how to use it," said Avalon. "I am only able to numb your paw, I don't know how to fix it. And I can't do anything about your parents, I really am sorry."

"It's alright, thank you," said Eider. Avalon licked his tears away, something she sometimes saw her mother do to her father.

"Is Serenity coming with the King and Queen?" asked Torch.

"No," said Windwalker. "She's expecting a baby, and she can't be around reptiles. It could give her baby salmonella."

"Who came up with that rule?" Scauldy boasted.

"Who knows," said Toothless. "It really is a shame though, she loves our kind more than her own."

"She's not a dragon?" asked Eider.  
>"No she's a human," said Windwalker. "And a Dragon Rider."<p>

"I'm having a hard time trusting humans at the moment," Eider groaned.

"I didn't like them at first either," said Windwalker. "But over the past many years I've met a few humans who would die to save our kind. You'll see. But first we have to get out of here." The others nodded in agreement. While they watched the sun go down the adult dragons introduced themselves to Eider. He was very friendly, but he was also distraught. His parents had been taken from him so suddenly, he was made an orphan in less then ten seconds. When Avalon asked him what he was going to do when they were free, and he said he didn't know. Avalon then asked if he wanted to go with them and go to Draconia. He liked the idea and gratefully accepted. As long as he could help kill the man who killed his parents. They said he could. They made themselves ready to carry out their plan.

A few hours later the sun was out of sight and the world was very dark. Apollo returned to the cave like he promised. Avalon was very happy to see him. She introduced him to Eider and they seemed to get along.

"Now that we all know each other, lets get on with the plan," said Fanghook. "My wings are cramped up."

"We'll need away across the lake," said Windwalker.

"I have a way across," said Apollo. "I'll show you when you get out."

"Right, go keep a look out," Toothless said. Apollo nodded and ran off.

"Everyone get back," said Windwalker. They did as they were told. Avalon and Eider hid behind Torch's wing. Then the two Night Furies activated their Titan Wing and glowed bright blue. They each built up a maximum powered plasma blast, and fired at the bars. The bars were blasted into nothing. The dragons waisted no time in getting out. But the humans in the castle naturally heard the explosion.

"Torch, think you can keep them busy?" asked Toothless. The Typhoomerang nodded and took off. He flew at the castle roaring. He did his famous spin over the castle while breathing fire. The other dragons ran as fast as they could, Eider rode on Toothless's back as his paw was still broken. Apollo led the way to where Nessie was waiting. Torch finished with his job and flew over the lake. The others arrived at the meeting point with Nessie. When they saw her they were quite surprised as how big she was, evan bigger than Scauldy.

"Hello everyone," she said politely. "My name is Nessie, how many am I taking across the lake?"

"Just me," said Toothless. "The others can fly, but my left tail fin is missing so I can't fly." Torch then swooped down and did another fire spin over the water, giving them a steam cover. Toothless got on Nessie's back and Scauldy joined her in the water. The other dragons took off and joined Torch in the sky.

"I will take you to a spot I know, that's farther up the lake," Nessie said as they set off.

"It will give you a head start. I imagine Sir Archibald will want to hunt you down." She picked up the pace as they neared the middle of the lake.

"Lead the way Nessie," said Windwalker. With Torch continuing to give them a steam cover, all the dragons escaped up the lake, into the night.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Nessie swam up her lake new new friends following her. They were very quiet so they wouldn't be found out. They had lost sight of the castle, and now saw nothing but moonlit landscape as far as the dragon eye could see. Nessie ducked her head underwater so only her fin and her hump stuck out of the surface. Toothless laid down and watched the other dragons fly around. There was no sound; except for the beating of wings, and the sloshing for water made by Nessie's flippers and tail. She would occasionally blow her spout like a whale. They didn't need the steam cover any more since the castle was long out of sight.

Soon they saw the end of the lake. There was another small village with boats docked on the water. Nessie steered clear of it and headed for the shore. She heaved herself onto the sand and the dragons landed around her.

"Thank you," Toothless said, as he jumped to the ground.

"Why not go back to the river?" asked Scauldy as he came onto the land.

"Too many humans," Nessie said. "They will defiantly find you there. This way you can get a head start."

"Won't you come with us?" asked Torch. Nessie chuckled.

"I can't move over land," she said. "I was born in this lake and I plan to die in this lake."

"We need to get moving," said Windwalker. "Thank you for your help Nessie."

"My pleasure," Nessie said, then she turned to Eider. "I'm sorry about your parents Eider. I wish I could have stopped it." Eider looked at her with sad eyes.

"It's okay," he said. "They're with Lord Draco now, in the Dragon Heaven."

"Please feel free to come back and visit me anytime," Nessie said happily. "I don't get too many dragon visitors, mostly humans who try to catch me for money."

"We certainly will," said Windwalker. "When that man is long gone." Nessie nodded and began to scoot back into the water. She turned and swam towards the middle of the lake. When she was far enough she dove under the water and disappeared with one last wave of her tail. The dragons turned towards each other.

"Let's go," said Toothless. Eider got on his back and they set off. They ran through the heather and headed for the top of the nearest mountain.

"We can all fly back to Berk," said Torch. "I can give Toothless a lift, and we will be home in no time."

"Yeah," said Eider, Avalon, and Apollo in unison.

"Do you know the way?" Toothless asked Torch. The Typhoomerang looked at the ground.

"No I don't," he said. "Dose anyone know the way back to the archipelago?"

"I don't even know where we are," said Fanghook. "I was kept in the dark the whole trip up here."

"It's warmer here," Windwalker said. "So we must be south of the archipelago, but I don't know how far. Tenor's better at navigating than I am."

"Well I guess we have to stay here somewhere until help comes," said Toothless. Avalon looked at Eider. He was slumped over Toothless's back his bad paw dangling over the side.

"Where's home for you?" she asked.

"My original home was destroyed in an earthquake and an avalanche," said Eider. "My parents and I were on our way to look for a new home. I heard my mother talking about Draconia."

"Cool will you go there after all this?" asked Apollo, who couldn't help but join in. "You can live in our big castle."

"Thanks, I'll think about it," said Eider. He still didn't look happy. Avalon jumped onto Toothless's back and laid next to him.

"What were your parents like?" she asked. Eider sighed.

"My father was a Blackfang and my mother was a Whipertail," he said. "They loved to travel and hunt for exotic foods. They always told me about their travels for nest time stories. They took me on some travels as well and would bring back some of those exotic foods they hunted. They hunted animals that humans have never even heard off, like these things called elephants. Then they told me that they were going to give me siblings so I would have someone to play with while the hunted. That's what they were going to get started on when we got to Draconia." He started crying again.

"I'm really sorry Eider," Avalon said. "I wish there was something I could do for you. But you always welcome to play with Apollo and me."

"Thanks, but I don't think I'll be much fun with this busted paw," Eider said he flicked his broken paw. He suddenly hissed when his paw started hurting again. Avalon tried using her magic again, but it didn't work.

"Oh dear, looks like I'm not as good as my mother when it comes to magic," she said sadly. "She's way better than me."

"Well thanks for trying," Eider said. He kept flinching with every movement he made.

"I'll try again later," said Avalon. "It's probably because I'm tired." She yawned and stretched her wings. Apollo looked really bored.

"Come on up Apollo," said Avalon. "There's room for you." Apollo jumped up and laid on the other side of Avalon. Toothless didn't seem to mind having all three of them on his back, he was used to having something there that it made him feel at home. They continued to walk through the heather and the moonlight. They all stayed on the ground so Toothless wouldn't be isolated. The three youngest dragons soon fell asleep, curled up in a ball between Toothless's wings.

Back out at sea Eret had successfully steered his ship through the huge typhoon that blew them far off course. When it was passed Eret was totally exhausted. The other riders and dragons had taken shelter in the lower deck. Chris continued carving something out of wood. He spent hours on it until he fell asleep. When anyone asked him what he was making all he said was that it was a surprise for Serenity. They had been as sea for two months, going on three. Now with the storm having blown them of course, they worried about ever getting there. Skullcrusher went up to the Queen.

"I need another sniff your majesty," he said. Aurora used the tip of her tail to reach into her saddlebags and took out her youngest son's crown. She looked at it sadly.

"It's been so long since I sent those two out to play," she said. "I know they'll be okay, but I still miss them."

"We'll find them your majesty," said Skullcrusher. "We'll do whatever it takes." Aurora nodded and held out the crown. He sniffed it then sniffed the air.

"Hey the sent's stronger," he said. "Not by much, but it's definitely stronger."

"We're getting closer?" said Aurora. Skullcrusher nodded. The Queen breathed a sigh of relief. She used her magic to fill the sails with wind. Skullcrusher went up to Eret and guided him in the right direction. The ship picked up speed and they zipped across the water. The dragons and riders sat on the deck and watched the ocean go by. At that moment Serenity's Hermes Dragon flew down and landed in front of Chris. She had a scroll in her talons. She gave it to Chris then waited. Chris put down what he was doing and opened the scroll. He read it to himself.

_Dear Chris. Here's the update with Edelweiss. She's growing really well, nothing's showing yet, but she gets really hungry. It's a good thing I have this apple tree because Edelweiss doesn't seem to like fish. The dragons are staying away like I asked them. I mostly spend my days cooking or making baby clothes, a blanket, and a baby sling so I can carry her with me in the saddle. How's the search going? Right back soon._

_Love,  
>Serenity and Edelweiss.<em>

At the very bottom of the paper Serenity had drawn a white flower with green leaves and a yellow center. It was very pretty. Chris looked at the thing he had been carving. He was almost done with it, so he decided to finish it before sending it back to Berk with his reply. He dismissed the Hermes Dragon and went back to his carving. Aurora put a lot of wind in the sails so the ship would go at top speed. The ship sped across the water for one more month at sea.

Elsewhere the dragon fugitives had stopped for the night. When Avalon woke up she found herself laid beside Eider and Apollo, sandwiched between the two Night Furies. Above her, Avalon saw that Torch had used his wings to form a shelter over all of them. All the dragons were in the shelter, except Scauldy who liked sleeping under the stars where he could soak up the morning mildew. Avalon yawned and got up, stretching her wings. She went outside to bright sunlight. It was quite warm, but very wet. They were high on a hill with no water in sight. The landscape was uniquely beautiful. Avalon thought she was looking at one of the paintings in the castle gallery. She turned to see Scauldy fast asleep, and blending in with the green grass. Avalon was about to go back inside and wake the others when a herd of deer ran passed. Avalon thought she would catch everyone breakfast. She spread her wings and flew after the deer. She flew over the herd and picked out a deer to catch. She wasn't ready to take down the big buck, and it was against dragon law to hunt the females and fawns. So she picked out a decent sized stag and followed its every move. She waited until the deer came to a stop then circled it. She quickly dove down and shot jade green flames in a ring around the deer, isolating it. The animal roared for the help, but the rest of the herd had run off. Avalon then dove at her prey and landed on its back. She dug her claws into its flesh at it thrashed around. She waited until it wore itself before she went in for the kill. She pounced on the deer's head and used her talons to slit its throat. The deer fell over and died. Avalon threw back her head and roared a cry of victory. Then she picked up her kill with all four sets of claws and flew it back to the others.

She arrived just as the others were waking up. She flew down and dropped the deer in front of them. She landed on top of it looking proud of herself.

"Wow you caught that?" asked Torch.

"Yup," said Avalon. "I caught you all breakfast." She jumped off her kill and Toothless brought it into the shelter. While Fanghook cooked it Apollo watched with the other two hatchlings.

"I wish I could hunt that well," he said. "But I couldn't even catch a fish, or a rat."

"Well we can teach you how to hunt," said Windwalker. "Just like we taught you to fight."

"Okay," said Apollo. "What about you Eider?"

"I already know how to hunt," said Eider. "My parents taught me everything they knew. But with this broken paw I don't think I should be hunting." He flinched as he shifted his weight.

When they finished breakfast the dragons continued moving to a save place to hide from the humans. Avalon and Apollo rode with Eider on Windwalker's back. They went between the mountains. There weren't many trees, at least not enough to make a forest. They crossed a brook and entered a narrow valley. They kept their eyes open for a cave. As they walked and searched Windwalker filled the hatchlings in on what plan they had come up with while they were sleeping. They planned to find a cave so they could hide while they waited to be rescued. They figured that the Draconians and the Berkians were looking for them, and Windwalker planned on making it easier for them. The hatchlings liked this idea, since flying was out. They helped look for a cave. They looked all day. Fanghook caught everyone pheasants for lunch. Then they came to a wide river.

"Maybe there's a waterfall we can hide behind," said Avalon.

"Good thinking," said Toothless. "Let's follow the river." They changed their course and went parallel to the river. Scauldy went into the water and swam alongside them. They soon came to a huge waterfall that was wider than it was tall. Scauldy swam under it to look to see if there was a cave behind it. Sure enough there was a very big cave behind the water fall. The floor of the cave was a bit higher than the water level. The ceiling was very high. Scauldy couldn't tell how big the cave was, as it didn't have a visible back wall. There were several cliffs and ledges on the side walls. It looked perfect for a hideout. Scauldy swam back out to the others.

"Come in, this place is perfect," he said. The other dragons followed him into the cave and onto the floor. They shook the water off their scales and looked around.

"Wow, this place is huge," said Apollo.

"Let's set up and make ourselves at home," said Windwalker. "We don't know how long we'll have to wait here." The dragons explored the cave, which went deeper into the mountain. There was a passage that led to an even bigger cave. Toothless lit it up with a plasma blast. Avalon looked up to see openings in the ceiling of the cave, perfect for coming and going.

"This place is perfect," said Windwalker said.

"Yeah, it like Lord Draco put it here just for us," said Apollo.

"Maybe he did," said Torch. "Either way, we'll be very safe here." The others couldn't agree more.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Back on Berk Serenity sat in her chair making a baby sling out of leather and wool. She had exchanged her riding outfit for a white, wool night gown that Valka had lent her. It needed to be tailored and Serenity had done just that, since she was very good at sewing and she had nothing else to do. She tailored the gown and but a soft lining on the inside so it wasn't so itchy. It was very quiet at her hospital. Today Serenity had the hospital to herself. She was often alone. Valka spent her time looking after the village, and was the temporary Dragon Healer, Gothi spent her time looking after human patients. They paid her a visit whenever they had time, Edelweiss wasn't due for a while. Cloudjumper took over Toothless's alpha position until he got back, it kept him busy so he wasn't tempted to go to the apple tree. All the dragons were talking about her, excited to meet her baby when she was born. Serenity knew for a fact that dragons would be allowed in the room when Edelweiss was being born, or right afterwords. Valka and Gothi decided to have Serenity wait at least three days before she introduced Edelweiss to the dragons.

Serenity thought about all of this. It seemed like a very big sacrifice for this baby, giving up the dragons for nine months. At that moment Valka came up the hill.

"How are you doing?" she asked.

"Okay," said Serenity quietly. "It's very lonely this process."

"I know but you are doing a great job," Valka said.

"I may have had to give up dragons for a time," Serenity said strongly. "But there is nothing the universe can do that will make me stop loving them."

"You've been around dragons since you were 5 yes?" Valka asked.

"Yeah," Serenity said. "I don't remember my life before I met Ruby. All I know is that my old family didn't want be riding dragons. I don't remember when they looked like, how many siblings I had, nothing."

"How did you meet Ruby, specifically?" Valka asked.

"He found me sitting by myself while that family talked," Serenity said. "He landed and came up to me. He asked me if he could hand out with me. I said yes and he took me flying, first time in my life. He was my first friend ever. Then my parents saw me hanging out with a dragon. At first they didn't mind because I stayed out of trouble. But I spent all day, every day with Ruby, and they would mock me. As long as Ruby was around I didn't let it get to me. They saw this and were angry that I wasn't fun to mock any more, and I was even told my job as the youngest was to be made fun off that was the way life was. But I still wouldn't let them make fun of me. So they said either get rid of the dragon or leave and never return. So Ruby said that I could go live with him in Draconia and never be taunted again. I got on his back and he took me far from them. He took me on a 24 hour flight to Draconia. I met Chris and his parents the following day."

"You never went back?" Valka asked.

"Once, but it was clear that they didn't want me anymore," Serenity said. "So I declared the dragons my family."

"You've been around dragons for twenty years?" Valka asked.

"Twenty one years," said Serenity said. "Dragons are so amazing, I can't imagine the world without them."

"You know not all dragons are as wonderful," Valka said.

"Neither are humans," Serenity pointed out. At that moment her Hermes Dragon flew over, dropped a parcel on her lap, and flew off again. Serenity put her sewing down and picked up the parcel. The Hermes Dragon flew to the top of the tree, she was only allowed in the hospital to drop of and pick up messages. Serenity would write to her husband and put it on a lower tree branch and the Hermes Dragon would get it. Serenity opened up the small note that was tied to the parcel and read it.

**_Hey Serenity. I made this for you to try and cheer you up. It may not be much but I hope you like it. We are still out at sea. We just made it through a very bad storm that put us back a few weeks. Skullcrusher is still keeping us on course. Mom says we will get snow soon. What dose the baby blanket look like? Write back when you have time. Love Chris._**

Serenity then opened the parcel. Inside was a beautiful white, wooden swan. Its neck was arched and resting on its wings. It had a red and black bill and and dark eyes. It was very beautiful and did make Serenity feel better.

"Wow Chris made that?" asked Valka, looking at the swan.

"Yeah, isn't it romantic?" Serenity said. She flipped the swan over and saw a carved S, C, and E in a carved heart on the bottom of the swan. Serenity put the swan on the armrest of her chair. Valka went back to her job and Serenity went back to her sewing. She no longer felt lonely with the swan beside her.

* * *

><p>Six weeks later back in the highlands the group of fugitives got comfortable in their cave. Windwalker and Toothless took Apollo out for hunting lessons. They explained that he couldn't catch anything because he always pounced while still in their eyesight. They showed him how to be sneaky, and patient. Unfortunately Apollo didn't get it right away, and he grew frustrated with himself. He would go to pull down a squirrel and missed it every time. The other dragons would sometimes join the hunt. All except for Eider who laid down on a ledge in the cave, so he wouldn't have to walk on his bad paw. It hurt a great deal, evan when he wasn't walking on it. Every time he moved a huge wave of pain shot through his body. So he hardly moved at all, but even then he was in pain. He begged Lord Draco to make it stop. He slept most of the time, it helped get his mind of his pain.<p>

One evening Apollo was prowling through tall grass, his eyes fixed on a rabbit. He was being watched by the other dragons including his sister. He waited until he couldn't see the rabbit's eyes. He crept closer to it, as quietly as possible. Then when he was in jumping distance, he pounced with his front talons out. He pinned the rabbit down. It wriggled and tried to bite him. Apollo squeezed his prey, but he squeezed too hard and the rabbit slipped out of his talons like a bar of soap and ran off. Apollo tried chasing it but it vanished into its burrow. The Prince roared in frustration. Avalon ran to his side, the others behind her.

"I almost had it," said Apollo through his teeth.

"You squeezed it too hard," said Windwalker. "Once you have your prey you have to use your teeth and bite the neck."

"I want to try again," said Apollo.

"No that's enough for today," said Toothless. "We'll try again tomorrow." Apollo and Avalon followed the adults back towards the cave. Avalon planed on checking on Eider. He hadn't moved from his spot in almost a month.

When they got back to the cave Avalon found Eider fast asleep. She leaped onto his ledge and laid beside him. He stirred and sat up when he felt her presence.

"Hi," she said softly. "You look lonely." Eider shifted his weight slowly, preparing himself for the pain. Avalon looked at his broken paw. It was badly swollen and looked painful. She sometimes used her magic to make it feel better, but she could never get the spell to last very long; and every time the spell went away the pain was even worse when it came back. Avalon stopped when seemed to make it worse. Avalon looked around the cave. Torch and Fanghook had gone back out to look for food. Scauldy was sleeping.

"I might have something that can help with your paw," said Avalon. "But you have to get up." Eider gave her a pained expression.

"What is it?" he asked.

"I remember Serenity saying that for a busted limb you should put in water," said Avalon. "It will help with the swelling and the pain. She also said to put a splint on it, but we don't have one."

"I don't want to move," said Eider. "It hurts to bad." He had tears in his eyes. Avalon considered.

"Hey Aunt Windwalker, can you give Eider a ride to the pool?" she asked.

"Sure," said Windwalker. She went over to the ledge and waited for Eider to get on her back. Avalon called her brother over to help, and the two of them moved Eider onto Windwalker. The purple dragon clenched his teeth to stop from crying out in pain. When he was secure Avalon and Apollo followed their aunt towards the pool. When they got there Windwalker slowly knelt down and Avalon and Apollo helped get Eider off her back and to the edge of the pool.

"Thank you," said Avalon to Windwalker.

"Call me if you need anything," she said as she went back. Avalon and Apollo laid Eider on the edge of the pool.

"This is going to hurt," Avalon warned. "But it will go away." She carefully lifted his left front paw, by the part that wasn't broken, and put in the water. Eider roared in pain, and at the shock of how cold the water was. Avalon heated it up with fire. Eider soon began to relax as the water seemed to wash away the pain. He took several deep breaths and calmed down.

"Better?" Avalon asked.

"Yes," said Eider. "But I still can't move it."

"Then don't," said Apollo. "Just keep it there." He and Avalon laid beside him.

"I wish Serenity was here," said Avalon. "She would know how to fix this." Eider adjusted the temperature of the water with his fire.

"I miss home," said Apollo. "I haven't seen Mama and Papa in three months."

"Do you think we'll ever get home?" asked Avalon.

"Sure we will," said Apollo. "One way or another. They'll find us I know it."

"Do you want to go outside?" asked Avalon. "We'll help you walk."

"No thanks I don't want to move for a while," said Eider. "This helps." He gestured to the water. Apollo went outside to get some air while Avalon kept Eider company. When Apollo got outside he saw that it was snowing heavily. There was already some on the ground. Apollo beamed. Like most children, he loved to play in the show. He ran back inside to the others.

"Hey guys it's snowing," he said excitedly. "There's enough on the ground for playing in." Both Avalon and Eider looked surprised by this news.

"We should go play in it," said Avalon. "We can see who can throw a snowball the farthest."

"Can I just watch, I don't want to damage my paw any more," said Eider. "I'll be your judge."

"Okay," said Avalon. She helped Eider to his feet and let him lean on her. Eider was never one to turn down playing in the snow, he figured it was worth of few minuets of pain. They were just about to go through the waterfall when they were stopped.

"Where do you think you two are going?" asked the voice of Windwalker. They turned to see her approaching them.

"We just want to play in the snow," said Apollo. "It's snowing outside."

"We can't risk Sir Archibald finding us here," said Windwalker. "He could have spies anywhere, unseen. Sorry it's too dangerous, there's plenty of room to play in here." The three young dragons' faces fell. Eider laid back down by the water and put his paw back in. Apollo and Avalon laid beside him.

"How long to we have to stay here?" asked Avalon.

"I don't know," Windwalker confessed. "But it won't be forever, I know that. You'll be home before you know it. Why don't you come back inside you'll catch your death of cold out here." The three young dragons followed her back into the larger cave, Apollo and Avalon supported Eider. As they walked Apollo changed the subject.

"Will I ever be a good hunter?" he asked his aunt. "It seems everyone's better at it than I am."

"Don't worry you'll get," said Windwalker. "I taught your guy's brother how to hunt." They arrived at the large cave where the others were waiting. Eider was returned to his ledge and the other two sat with the adult dragons around the camp fire, which was Fanghook.

* * *

><p>Back out at sea Eret's ship was facing snowfall as well. The riders were starting to go mad with boredom. The dragons hadn't gotten there yet, but were very close.<p>

"We've been at sea for almost four months and there have been no sign of anything," said Gobber.

"I'm going to see how close we are to land," said Tenor. He spread his wings and flew way up high, as high as the clouds let him. In the distance he could just barley make out the shapes of mountains on the horizon. He beamed and flew back to the ship.

"Land ho!" he called.

"How far?" Eret called back.

"Twenty miles minimum," said Tenor. "If the wind keeps up we should reach it before night fall."

"Finally we can really stretch out legs," said Tuffnut. Aurora used her magic to increase the speed of the ship. They began passing large sea stacks. Soon they all saw the mountains in the distance.

"We made it," said Hiccup relieved.

"We are one step closer to rescuing those dragons," said Re.

An hour later the ship was approaching the green hills and the mouth of a river. Skullcrusher took another sniff at Apollo's crown and pointed right towards the river. Eret steered the ship into it and they began sailing up the river. The landscape was green and white with snow.

"Where are we?" asked Astrid.

"South," said Tenor. "But I don't know how far." The ship sailed passed tall trees and a cottage here and there. The snow came down heavily.

"I hope those dragons aren't freezing, wherever they are," said Aurora.

"They've had worse," said Re. "I'm sure they're fine." They watched the land go by.

Soon they reached the village that Avalon, Apollo, and the two Night Furies had been sold. The ship passed many others docked next to their houses. There were people walking through the village dressed in heavy wool. They stared at Eret's ship as it passed. The day was drawing to a close and it grew darker. No one felt like turning in for the night so the ship continued on at full speed. Suddenly Skullcrusher began roaring and snarling.

"He says stop," said Re. Hiccup and Snotlout threw the anchor overboard and the ship came to an abrupt stop.

"The sent stops here," said Skullcrusher. Aurora translated for the riders.

"So they're in the village?" asked Re.

"I think so," said Skullcrusher.

"We should dock the ship and search the village," said Hiccup. "The dragons in the air and the rest of us on the ground." So they put the sails down and rowed the ship towards the nearest pier. The dragons spread their wings and flew low over the village. Naturally this scared the villagers and they all ran indoors. The riders tied the ship down and went through the village on foot. Aurora used her homing spell to call for her children. She felt so sure they were going to come flying towards her. But they didn't, she and the other dragons called their names and got no response.

"I don't think they're here your majesty," said Hookfang to Aurora.

"Then why did the sent stop here?" asked Aurora.

"A mystery," said Meatlug. "Let's rejoin the others." The dragons flew down and landed in front of the riders.

"Did you find anything? Chris asked.

"Nope," said Tenor, sadly.

"If they were here they would've come when we called them," said Aurora. "Now what?"

"Well I don't think we should hang around here," said Hiccup, looking at the windows of the houses. People were looking out with worried looks on their faces. "If we stay here too long these folks might run us out of here anyway."

"We can fight back," said Chris.

"We can, but we won't," said Re. "This isn't war it's a rescue mission, and if we do fight these people we'll have a war to deal with and it will take forever to find those dragons. Now come on back to the ship, we can follow the river." They all went back to their ship and boarded it. The dragons let down the sails and pushed the ship out to the middle of the river. Aurora put wind in the sails and they set off.

They left the village far behind and sailed passed more snow covered mountains. The snow continued to fall and landed on the deck. The river got narrower but the ship had no trouble getting through it. Eret steered it around a bend and the river ended in a large lake that had a blanket of fog over it. The sun had gone down and the world was black and white, and very quiet. Eret had problems seeing through the fog so Tenor used his sonar to look for rocks or islands. The ship left the river far behind. The only sounds came from the water, the wind in the sails, and the creaking of the haul.

"We should put the anchor down for the night," said Re. "We'll have a better look at where we are when it's light out."

"Very well," said Eret. "But first thing in the morning." Re nodded. They put the anchor down again and put the sails away. Everyone did feel exhausted. The dragons went to the back of the ship and the riders went below decks. Aurora used her magic to keep the snow out and the ship very warm. Then she curled up next to her mate and they all fell asleep.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

The next morning the riders and dragons got a better look at the lake. It had stopped snowing and the fog was gone. They saw the huge lake and the mountains surrounding it.

"Wow, this place is beautiful," said Astrid. "This has got to be the biggest lake I've ever seen."

"I recognize this place the more I look at it," said Re.

"What is it?" asked Hiccup.

"The humans haven't given it a name yet," said Re. "But to our kind its called Nessie's Lake." Aurora, Tenor, and Chris looked at the lake again.

"Hey it is," said Aurora.

"Who's Nessie?" asked Fishlegs. Before anyone could answer. There came the sound of a whale's spout. They all looked in the direction of the sound and saw Nessie's fin and hump. She blew her spout again.

"That's Nessie," said Re. "She's a freshwater Whale Dragon, or Lake Dragon." They watched Nessie's fin disappear under the water.

"Maybe she can help us," said Aurora. She blew fire into the water to tell Nessie that the were there.

"Does she speak Norse?" Chris asked.

"Nope," said Re. "She does speak Latin though." They watched for the fin again. When it appeared Aurora turned to the crew.

"You should keep your distance, she's not too fond of humans," she said. They watched the fin get closer to the ship. Then Nessie stuck here head out of the water and pulled right alongside the ship.

"Hello your majesties," she said to Re and Aurora. "I've been expecting you."

"Whoa she's huge," said Fishlegs. Nessie turned on him and the other riders.

"They're okay they're Dragon Riders," said Tenor. "Anyway we were wondering if you had seen four dragons that came through here, two of them were Night Furies."

"And the other two were Whippertails" Nessie finished. "Yes I saw them. They got sold to a Celtic dragon slayer named Sir Archibald. But I was able to help them escape."

"They're alive?" asked Aurora.

"Last I saw," Nessie said.

"Our tracking dragon said his sent stopped back at that village," said Re. Nessie chuckled.

"That's probably because he escaped the cage and went into the water," she said. "He's one fine swimmer."

"That explains a lot," said Skullcrusher.

"They are probably hiding in the highlands," said Re.

"I don't think they'll stay hidden for long," said Nessie. "Sir Archibald has a whole army out looking for them, he won't rest until they're back in the bared cave they were held in. They have weapons that can easily shoot a dragon out of the sky."

"Bolas?" asked Aurora. Nessie shook her head.

"Harpoons," she said darkly. "And catapults."

"Can you take us to where you last saw them?" asked Tenor. Nessie nodded.

"Follow me," she said. She dove back into the water and swam off with her fin slicing through the water.

"What did she say?" asked Hiccup.

"She wants us to follow her," said Re. "She will take us to where she last saw the dragons."

"She saw them?" asked Astrid.

"I'll explain on the way," said Re. He and the other dragons flew up to release the sails and two riders raised the anchors. The ship sailed after Nessie's fin. They went farther up the lake. Re filled them all in on what she had said. They all grew worried.

"Harpoons!?" Eret exclaimed. "They plan on killing these dragons?"

"Yup for their skin and blood," said Aurora. "So we need to find those dragons before Sir Archibald does."

"How are we going to find them with no more trail?" asked Snotlout.

"The old fashioned way," said Tenor. "By looking."

"That's going to take forever," said Gobber.

"Not if we work together," said Aurora. She used the tip of her tail to reach into her saddlebag and pulled out a large scroll. She unrolled in on the floor. It was a map of the highlands.

"We'll have to split up and rendezvous at a point every night," Hiccup said.

"I'll sail the ship to the cost," said Eret.

"We'll rendezvous there," said Aurora. "We should go in pairs." While they sailed up the lake they all charted their owned routes. They agreed that if they found the dragons they would bring them to the rendezvous. If they ran into trouble they would sent their partner to get the others. They agreed to not give up the search until the dragons were found.

Soon Nessie reached the spot where she had dropped off the fugitives. The ship pulled up to the shore and the riders gathered their camping gear and weapons. They mounted their dragons; Chris mounted his dad and Hiccup got on Tenor. The ship came to a stop. Hiccup had drawn everyone a copy of the map so they would know where the rendezvous was and where the others were searching incase there was an emergency. Nessie pulled up alongside the ship.

"Thank you Nessie," Aurora said. "For helping them escape and for leading us here."

"It was my pleasure your majesty," said Nessie humbly. "I wish you luck. And tell Serenity hi for me."

"We will," said Aurora. They watched Nessie dive back into the water with a wave of her tail. All the dragons and riders, except Eret and Skullcrusher, took off. They split up and flew low over the mountains.

It began to snow again as Chris and Re flew over the snow and trees, followed by Hiccup and Tenor. They could see a lot from the air, including a few men on horses. The two dragons called out for any of the dragons they were looking for. They saw no hint of them. They flew over the river that led to the waterfall where they hid, but went right passed it not following it. They looked all day until the sun went down. When they couldn't see anymore they flew to the coast where the ship was anchored. They met up with the others, all empty handed. They would go to sleep at once then get up at daybreak and went back to searching. They went like that for several weeks. Some of the riders went on the ground, searching in every cave they could find. The left no stone unturned. They sometimes saw Sir Archibald's men also searching for the dragons. Luckily those men were so focused on their search that they didn't see the dragons and riders fly overhead. Both sides spent all their time looking for the fugitives.

Back in the cave the fugitives were sitting around the campfire with several fish that Scauldy caught in the river. Eider was still on his ledge. He made regular trips to the pool to keep the swelling and the pain to a minimum. Avalon and Apollo kept him company whenever he wanted it. They were still forbidden to go outside without the adults. When they did go out Windwalker would help Apollo up his hunting skills. He would fly over his prey and then pounce on it just like Windwalker showed him. He was getting better at hunting as the days went by. He was able to catch fish and a squirrel or two. Avalon sometimes went out with them, and sometimes she stayed in the cave with Eider and Toothless. The male Night Fury hardly ever went out because he couldn't fly and escape incase he ran into Sir Archibald's army. He and the other adults were quite sure they were being hunted by them. Windwalker and Apollo never stayed out long, just one lesson then back to the cave. All three young dragons were very sad about not being able to play in the snow. They spent most of their time around the campfire or on Eider's ledge. They said very little and when they weren't talking they were sleeping.

"I wish they could play in the snow," said Torch. "It would give them something to do."

"You think I like keeping them in here?" said Windwalker. "I want to let them play in the snow, really I do. But I don't want to risk them getting captured again. If they get put back in that cage they most likely will never play in the snow again." They fell quiet looking at the three young dragons. They were staring off into space; Eider on his ledge, and Avalon and Apollo laying at the base of the ledge. Suddenly Toothless perked his ears up.

"Did you hear that?" he asked. They all looked at him.

"What is it?" asked Torch.

"I thought I heard Hiccup calling my name," said Toothless. "But it's probably just my wishful thinking." He put his head back down on his paws.

"You have a friend named Hiccup?" said Eider. "That's a really funny name."

"Yeah it is," Toothless admitted.

"Why is he called Hiccup?" asked Windwalker. "I hope it not just something to tease him with."

"No, he was named Hiccup because he was born small," said Toothless. "When I first met him he was pretty small for a human. I was sure the wind would blow him away at some point. But the more I got to know him the more I realized that the name actually suited him. Because to all his enemies he was annoying and hard to get rid of, and the only time they did get rid of him was when he went away on his own." Windwalker actually laughed at this.

"That's actually clever," she said.

"But that's just my opinion," said Toothless. "Because I myself have had the hiccups and that's what they're like."

"Is he your rider?" asked Eider.

"Yup, and the one that helped me fly again after I lost my tail fin," Toothless said.

"Will it grow back?" asked Eider.

"No it won't," Toothless said. "I know some lizards regrow their tails when it gets cut off, but not me." Then Eider yawned feeling tired again.

"You guys should get some rest," said Windwalker. "We're going out for another lesson early tomorrow." The three young dragons did as they were told. They all fell asleep dreaming of running through the snow, free.

For several more weeks the fugitives stayed in their caves and the Draconians and Berkians kept looking for them. They remained a bit hopeful; because if they couldn't find the dragons then Sir Archibald couldn't find them either. This was what kept them looking. They looked everywhere, even Nessie's lake again and her two neighboring lakes. They didn't find anything. But Lord Draco was about to give them some help.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Early one cold morning Apollo woke up before anyone else. He got up and flew to the top of the cave where he could look out at the landscape. The sun was high in the sky, there were no clouds in the sky, and there was two feet of snow on the ground. The snow looked really inviting. Apollo flew back down and ran to his sister. He nudged her gently. She woke up and yawned.

"Let's go play in the snow," Apollo said. "It's nice and deep, and I can pick up my hunting skills."

"We're not supposed to leave the cave," said Avalon. "We could be captured again."

"Please," Apollo begged. "I'm tired of being inside all the time, and we won't be gone long." Avalon got to her feet.

"Okay," she said. "I'll just wake up Eider. We will meet you at the pool." Apollo beamed and ran down the passage to the pool. He pranced around anxious to get out on the snow. Soon he was joined by Avalon and Eider.

"You sure this is a good idea?" asked Eider, who was leaning on Avalon so he wouldn't have to walk on his bad paw.

"Don't you want to play in the snow?" Apollo asked. "Or would you rather sit around the cave doing nothing?"

"Well when you put it that way," Eider agreed. "We just have to be careful not to let the enemy know where our hideout is. And we have to be careful not to get caught again."

"That will be a piece of cod," said Apollo. "We have wings and fire, and the enemy doesn't." They went outside and looked around at the snow laid out before them. The trees were covered in snow, their branches weighed down by it. It glittered in the sunlight.

"Wow, it pretty," said Avalon.

"Yeah, this is what we've been missing," said Apollo. "Now lets go."

"What if Aunt Windwalker finds out?" asked Avalon. "She will be really mad."

"Then we better make the most of this," said Apollo. "In case she grounds us." Avalon and Eider smiled. The three dragons ran across the snow, Eider flew so his paw wouldn't hurt. They played in the snow, happy to be free to run and play after almost six months being caged. Apollo and Avalon did their snowball throwing contest and Eider was the judge. He found that snow helped with the swelling as well. After Apollo won the contest all three of them started throwing snow at each other. They laughed the whole time, Eider was laughing for the first time in months. It helped him take his mind off his paw. Apollo and Avalon both pretended that their left front paws were broken, then played tag so Eider could be included. He was very touched by this.

They played for hours then finally laid down in the snow, worn out from running. Eider's paw started to hurt again, really badly. He put it in the snow and it helped. He felt happier than he had been ever since he watched his parents die. He laid beside his friends.

"I can't remember the last time I felt so happy," he said.

"Me neither," said Apollo. "I don't think we've played like that since before we were captured. How long has it been since we saw Mama and Papa?" Avalon considered.

"I'm going to guess five months give or take," she said. Apollo laid his head down.

"Maybe they've given up looking," said Eider. "I mean if they were looking for you, they would've found us by now."

"They'll come, I know they will," said Avalon. "I have every faith in Mama and Papa."

"But what if they don't come?" Eider asked. Avalon considered.

"I'll give them two years," she said. "Then we will make our own way home. But I know they'll find us, my family never gives up." Eider let it go for now.

"What's the first thing you're going to do when you get home?" he asked.

"Go ice skating," said Avalon. "There's a huge park in Bluegreen that has a pond in it. The pond freezes every winter and young dragons go ice skating on it."

"Fun," said Eider. "I'll have to get this paw fixed before I can join you. Do you think it will be chopped off, it's been damaged for a long time."

"I don't think they cut it off," said Apollo. "Serenity has fixed bones that were broken for much longer. Did you know she saved my papa's life when he got struck by lightning?"

"Really?" said Eider. "When?"

"Back when she wasn't a fully qualified dragon healer," said Apollo. "Papa got hit by lightning when he was flying through a storm on his way home. The Healer Dragons declared him dead at the hospital. But Serenity, who was 15 at the time, found the slightest sign of life. She did everything she knew how and pretty much brought him back to life. It was so cool."

"Wow, she really did save his life," said Eider.

"He still has scars from that event," said Avalon. "Really big ones." Suddenly she saw snow clouds on the horizon.

"Well I think we should head back," said Apollo, also seeing the clouds. "It's getting late and it looks like it's going to snow." Eider slowly and painfully got to his feet. Avalon and Apollo followed suit. They were about to set off for the cave, when they heard the neigh of a horse. They froze.

"There you are!" shouted a rough voice. The three young dragons turned to see Sir Archibald right behind them, standing beside his horse.  
>"Oh no, what do we do?" asked Apollo. Eider didn't answer. He growled at the villain. Then he took off and flew over him. He shot silver fire at Archibald. The horse reared up and ran off. Archibald drew his sword. Eider dived at him and shot more silver fire. Archibald slashed his sword at the dragon but missed. He tossed his sword aside and pulled a bow from his back and an arrow from his quiver. He fitted the arrow into the bow and aimed it at Eider.<p>

"Eider look out!" Avalon cried. Archibald tuned on her and kicked snow in her face. She roared when it got in her eyes. Then Archibald aimed his arrow at Eider. He fired it and hit Eider right in his bad paw as he was about to circle around for another attack. Eider roared in pain and crashed into the snow. Archibald picked his sword back up and advanced on the downed dragon. Avalon and Apollo finally blinked the snow out of their eyes. They saw Archibald getting closer to Eider. Avalon roared and ran at Archibald. When she was close enough she leapt forward and sank her teeth into Archibald's calf. He yelled in pain. He turned on Avalon and slashed his sword at her. She jumped out of the way and ran back to Apollo.

"Leave him alone!" she demanded.

"You're going to be so sorry you did that," Archibald hissed.  
>he whistled for his horse, which hadn't gone very far. He mounted his horse and charged after the two dragons, leaving Eider behind. Apollo and Avalon ran from the bad guy's horse. He chased them through the snow and towards a tall mountain. Archibald reached into his saddlebag and pulled out a lassoed rope. Avalon spread her wings and was about to take off. Archibald threw the rope at her and snagged her hind legs, preventing her form takin off. Avalon roared as she crashed onto the snow. Apollo, who was far up ahead, turned around when he heard his sister. He saw Archibald tie the other end of the rope to his saddle and dismounted his horse. He drew his sword again. Avalon struggled against her bonds as she watched Archibald get closer with his sword. She knew this was the end, Apollo was too far away to get there in time. Archibald sneered down at her. He raised his sword over her head, and was about to behead her when his sword was blocked by another. Avalon looked to see who had saved her, and saw Chris fighting Archibald. She had never been happier to see her older brother, and he wasn't alone. Re was helping Chris fight off Archibald. The villain was clearly no match for the pair of them. Re chased the horse away. It suddenly began dragging Avalon by her legs. Apollo flew after her and cut her loose. Avalon kicked the rope off and got to her feet. She and Apollo watched as Chris finally knocked Archibald unconscious. He fell onto the snow. Chris and Re turned to Apollo and Avalon. The two young dragons ran to them. Chris put his swords away just as Apollo tackled him to the ground and began licking his face. Avalon nuzzled her father.<p>

"Thank goodness you two are okay," Re said relieved.

"I knew you'd come," Avalon cried. Then Re got Apollo off Chris, who sat up.

"Yeah good to see you too Apollo," he said laughing.

"Can I help it if I missed you?" said Apollo. At that moment Windwalker and Toothless ran up to them. They had woken up to find the tree young dragons missing and spent a good half an hour looking for them.

"Hey! Look who we found!" Avalon cried. Windwalker ran to her rider and he hugged her. Toothless sat on his haunches beaming.

"Were's Mama?" asked Avalon.

"She's coming," said Re. "She'll be here in a few minuets."

"Where's Eider?" asked Toothless, noticing he wasn't there. Avalon gasped and took off. The others scrammed to follow her. She led them to where they had left Eider. They found him laying on the snow, his bad paw was bleeding badly. Eider was unconscious, but breathing. The arrow was still stuck in his paw.

"Who's this?" Re asked.

"This is Eider," said Avalon. "He was imprisoned with us after Archibald killed his parents. His paw had been broken for months."

"Oh my goodness," said Re. Suddenly their came a roar from overhead. Everyone looked up to see the rest of the group landing next to them, followed by the other fugitives.

"Mommy!" Apollo cried, running to Aurora. She lowered her head and nuzzled Apollo, then Avalon.

"I'm so glad you're alright," she said.

"We missed you Mommy," said Apollo.

"I missed you too," said Aurora. Hiccup jumped off Tenor and ran to his dragon. Toothless was so happy to see his rider. He began licking his face.

"Good to see you too bud," Hiccup said, laughing. Chris was attending to Eider's wounds with Serenity's medical bag. He pulled the arrow out then bandaged up the cut. Then he put a splint on Eider's broken wrist, luckily the poor dragon remained asleep during the whole thing. Tenor stood next to Windwalker, who was more than happy to see him.

"I thought I would never see you again," Windwalker said.

"Good to know you hadn't given up on me," Tenor said sarcastically.

"Well look at all this," said a voice behind them. Everyone turned to see Sir Archibald standing there, with his sword in hand. "These dragons will fetch me a good fortune. I'll be taking them all."

"Yeah," said Tenor. "You and what army?" Archibald sneered at them. Then there came a whole army out from behind the mountains. There were at least 100 men on horses, and some draft horses hauling what looked like giant crossbows that shot harpoons. One man on a horse came galloping up to Archibald with is horse. Archibald mounted his horse and joined his men.

"You had to open your big mouth didn't you Tenor?" said Re quietly. The riders mounted their dragons. Hiccup got back on Tenor, as Toothless had no left tail fin or saddle. The dragons took up a defensive pose with Torch behind them. The riders drew their weapons. They stood together as one unit against the massive army before them. Toothless made himself useful by rushing Eider to safety. The other dragons took off and flew over the army. Archibald ordered his men to start firing harpoons. But before they could the dragons shot fire at them. The horses whinnied and bolted. The men reined their horses in and began shooting arrows at the dragons. No arrow made a hit as the dragons were flying erratically. They set the whole valley on fire. limiting the horses' movements. The smoke from the fire filled the air, giving the dragons cover. Archibald was getting frustrated.

"Fire everything!" he roared. His men started firing harpoons, arrows, and boulders into the smoke. They heard a dragon cry out in pain, and Aurora fell out of the sky and crashed on the snow. The other dragons fired back giving Re time to go down to see if his mate was okay. He landed next to her, she had been hit by a boulder. Re nudged her and she sat up.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, just got the breath knocked out of me," said Aurora. "This armor does its job well." She got to her feet and followed Re back into the fight. The enemy had run out of ammunition and were throwing large rocks. The dragons swooped down and fired at the giant crossbows and catapults. Then they flew down and pulled soldiers off their horses. The animals ran off never to be seen again. Finally Archibald was the only one left standing. All the dragons landed in front of him. He was in checkmate and he knew it. Desperate now, he snatched Avalon by the neck and held his sword her throat.

"No one moves, or this one becomes a vest," Archibald shouted. Avalon struggled but Archibald gripped her tighter. He didn't see Apollo sneak around behind him. He was using the hunting skills Windwalker had taught him. He moved quietly and low to the ground. He didn't growl or snort. Then when he was in the man's blind spot he thrust his wings back and jumped onto Archibald's back. He fell forward on his face, releasing Avalon. She jumped to her feet and joined Apollo and helped hold him down. He struggled and yelled into the snow. He tried to get up but Avalon held his head down.

"Well I think we can call this mission accomplished," said Re.

"What do we do with this one?" asked Astrid. "Kill him?"

"No," said Re. "I have a cell in my dungeon all warmed up for him. We'll tie him up." And they did just that. The bound and gaged Archibald.

"Can we go home now?" Avalon asked her mother.

"Sure," said Aurora. "If we go now we might be in time to see Serenity's baby be born."

"What about Eider?" Avalon asked. "Can he come too?"

"Absolutely," said Aurora. Toothless returned with Eider on his back awake.

"Is everyone ready to go home?" Re asked. He was answered with a chorus of yes. They tied Archibald to the back of Scauldy. The riders got on their dragons again. Torch gave Toothless and Eider a ride, and they all flew back to where the ship waited. It took an hour to reach it and landed on the deck. Scauldy dumped his cargo on the deck and dived into the water. Archibald was put in the lower decks and shackled. Eret steered the ship back towards Berk. Scauldy offered to pull the ship the whole way. They set off homeward bound at last.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

It took Eret's ship another three months to reach the Berk. They took a quick detour to Draconian waters where Archibald was turned over to the Draconian authorities. Once he was long gone the ship headed for Berk. They were all excitedly talking about their adventures and about Serenity's baby. They had been gone nine months, the baby was probably ready to come out by now. The ship sailed back to Berk as fast as it could, with some help from Scaudly and Aurora's magic. Then at long last they saw the Isle of Berk on the horizon.

"Yeah we're back!" cried Avalon. Anxiety rose as they got closer to the docks. When they reached the docks they were greeted by Mulch and Bucket.

"Where's Serenity?" was the first words out of Chris's mouth.

"Ah, you might want to go up to the hospital," said Mulch, as he and Bucket tied the ship down. All the riders and dragons rushed up to the hospital without saying a word. When they got there they found Cloudjumper sitting in the shade by himself. He sat up as all the dragons and riders arrived.

"You are right on time," he said. "The baby is coming now."

"It is?" said Chris. Cloudjumper nodded.

"Valka wants everyone to stay out here until she comes out," he said. "So you all might want to make yourselves comfortable." They could hear a commotion coming from the house, screaming. The riders and dragons sat around the house, watching the door anxiously. They waited for any word from inside. Chris sat in Serenity's chair, nervous as heck. The chair was surrounded by bags of baby clothes, and on one of the branches of the apple tree was a leather and wool baby sling. Next to the tree trunk was a wooden cradle. Chris could tell that Serenity had been really bored stuck in the hospital. He turned to Cloudjumper.

"How has she been doing while we were gone?" he asked.

"Well, I haven't been allowed up here," Cloudjumper said. "But she was okay from what I've heard." Chris went back to watching the door. He could here Serenity's cries of pain and he gripped the armrests of the chair, his knuckles turned white. Windwalker sat next to him.

"She'll be okay," she said. Chris stroked her head absentmindedly.

"I'm never going to be able to get that sound out of my head," he said.

"Yes you will," said Windwalker. "It might take a bit, but you will." Chris leaned back in the chair. Then came the sound no one would forget, the unmistakable sound of a baby's cry. Everyone perked up when they heard it. The commotion inside subsided. Everyone's eyes were on the door, waiting for it to open. They didn't have to wait long. A few minuets later the door opened a few inches and Valka stuck her head out. She caught Chris's eye and beckoned him inside. They all looked at him. Chris took a few deep breaths and slowly got to his feet. He went into the house. Valka told the others to wait outside.

"Well what are we, garbage?" asked Tenor. He was so fed up with being told to wait outside. He slumped to the grass and closed his eyes. Chris entered the house and Valka closed the door behind them. Serenity was laying on a bed, propped up on some pillows, holding something hidden by a blanket. She looked up when Chris came in, she gave him a tired smile. He went to her side and knelt down.

"Did you find them?" Serenity whispered.

"Yes, everyone's safe," Chris said. Serenity smiled wider and what was in the blanket. It was a beautiful baby girl, sleeping peacefully. Chris could make out a small mock of black hair on top of the baby's head. The rest of her was hidden by the blanket, which had a big edelweiss flower in the middle surrounded by dragons.

"Wow, she's so tiny," said Chris.

"I know right," Serenity agreed. "But I she's totally worth giving up dragons for nine months."

"And now you can have them back in your life," Chris said quietly. Serenity smiled bigger. At that moment Edelweiss opened her eyes, which were bright green. She looked around at the source of the new voice. When she saw Chris her eyes grew wide.

"Hi Edelweiss," he cooed. Serenity gently handed her to him and Chris took his new daughter in his arms, still looking her in the eye. His mind went back to when he first held his little sister, he felt the same emotions. He was going to do whatever it took to make sure nothing bad happened to Edelweiss.

"Can she go outside?" Serenity asked Valka.

"Not right now," Valka said. "Too cold."

"Oh, I really wanted to try out that baby sling," Serenity said, a bit disappointed.

"She can go out tomorrow," Valka said.

"That'll work," Serenity said. Edelweiss decided she had seen enough, yawned and went back to sleep. Chris handed her back to Serenity.

"You should get some rest," Valka said. "You can introduce her to the dragons."

"Alright," Serenity said.

"I'll go make sure the dragons don't go mad," Chris said. "Tenor wasn't too thrilled when he was told to wait outside."

"Yeah," said Serenity. "I lost count of how many times Toothless came up to my hospital saying he felt like dirt because he was forced to wait outside alone while all the humans were allowed in. It's really sad when it happens."

"Speaking of which," Chris said. "There's a young dragon out there with a broken wrist, do you think you can fix it when you feel rested?"

"Sure," said Serenity, looking at Edelweiss. She now felt as tired as Edelweiss looked. Chris left the room and went back outside. All the dragons got to their feet.

"They're okay," Chris said, before the uproar. "You will all meet Edelweiss tomorrow."

"Edelweiss?" said Astrid. "That's a nice name. So it's a girl?"

"Yup," said Chris. "Black hair, green eyes." He closed the door.

"Wow, pretty," said Aurora. The riders and dragons left the hospital except for the Draconinans. Scauldy, Torch, and Fanghook went to find a cave to sleep in for the night, they wanted to see the baby as well. Valka and Gothi soon left as well. They all settled down after their big adventure. The three young dragons curled up together next to the tree trunk. The adult dragons slept all around the tree, and Chris slept in the tree.

Early the following morning Serenity and Edelweiss were the first ones up. Serenity got up, fed her baby, then went outside. Edelweiss was bundled up in her blanket and wore a blue wool dress. Outside there was frost on the ground, but the hospital was protected by a spell Draco put on it several years ago that kept the sun shining on the place. The tree was glowing gold in the morning sunshine. Serenity went over the cradle and put Edelweiss in it, tucking her in, then sat in her chair. At that moment Re woke up and stretched.

"You're up early," he told Serenity. She smiled.

"Got restless," she said. Re got to his feet.

"You've never gotten restless before," Re said.

"Not me," Serenity said laughing.

"Oh," Re said, realizing what she meant. He went over to the cradle to see his granddaughter. She was wide awake and wiggling. When she saw Re, her eyes grew wide again.

"She knows she has a long day of meeting people," Serenity said. Then she hugged the King.

"It's good to see you again," she said. Re hugged her back. "That was the longest nine months of my life without dragons."

"You took it on like a champ," Re said. "And your rewards are dragons back in your life, and a new baby." At that moment the other dragons woke up.

"Good morning my friends," Serenity said.

"Hi Serenity," said Tenor. Serenity hugged him next. Aurora looked at Edelweiss.

"She has your eyes," she said.

"Yeah and Chris's hair," Serenity said. "What do you think?"

"She's beautiful," Aurora said. Edelweiss squealed in delight.

"Where did the cradle come from?" asked Re.

"Valka lent it to me," said Serenity. "That's Hiccup's old cradle." Avalon and Apollo tried to look over the side of the cradle, but couldn't quite reach it.

"We can't see Mama," said Apollo. Aurora picked her hatchlings up by their tails and put them on Serenity's chair. Now they could see the baby. Eider sat by himself. Serenity noticed.

"What's your name?" she asked.

"I'm Eider," said Eider. "I was imprisoned with your friends."

"You hurt your paw," Serenity said. She pointed to his left front paw.

"And it hurts too," Eider said. "Can you fix it?" Serenity looked at the cradle. Edelweiss was checking out her grandmother.

"Would it be cruel of me to go back to work now?" Serenity asked.

"No," said Re. "There's probably going to be a whole mob here in a few minuets, save yourself the trouble of having answer dumb questions."

"Okay," Serenity said. "Right this way Eider." She led him back into the house. At that moment Chris finally came out.

"Where's Serenity?" he asked.

"She's fixing Eider's paw," said Aurora. "She's left us in charge of Edelweiss, and the mob that are due to arrive to see her."

"And went they're done we can go home," said Tenor. "And get started with those Dragon Island plans."

"Oh, I almost forgot about that," Re said. "That's the whole reason we came out here in the first place."

"Well things change," said Aurora. "We can start on them when we get home." She put a vaccine spell on Edelweiss so she wouldn't get sick from being around so many dragons. It didn't take long before the visitors came up the hill. They filled the hospital and were allowed up, one at a time, to see Edelweiss. Re looked at the crowd quite surprised.

"Wow, you guys act like you haven't seen a baby before," he said, giggling.

"Well we've never seen this baby," said Astrid. Toothless approached the cradle and looked at Edelweiss. He put on the cutest face he could. Edelweiss gave him a gummy smile. Toothless tilted his head, then gave her a gummy smile. She giggled and reached a little hand out and touched his nose. Toothless purred, the baby's skin was very soft and delicate. He gave her hand a tiny lick, she giggled again when it tickled. Then Toothless stepped a side to let the next person see her. Edelweiss seemed to like the dragons, she looked interested at how different each one looked. The riders however she seemed afraid of. Chris and his parents stood nearby incase something went wrong. Tenor was perched in the tree to make room for the others. Then Fishlegs got so excited that he shoved Snotlout out of the way and ran up to the cradle. He ran so fast that he knocked into the cradle and tipped it over. Everyone gasped as the cradle landed on the ground with a sickening thud. Chris drew one of his swords, pinned Fishlegs to the tree trunk, and pressed the blade of his sword to his neck. Astrid rushed toward the cradle and picked up Edelweiss who was screaming bloody murder, while Hiccup set the cradle back up. It had smashed on the ground.

"Is this going to be a habit of yours?" Chris snapped at Fishlegs. "Running up to newborns like an itdiot and put them in danger?" He remembered when Fishlegs had accidentally kicked Aurora's eggs.

"I'm sorry it won't happen again," Fishlegs said fearful. "I swear."

"That's what you said last time," said Chris. He looked over at Astrid. "Is she hurt?"

"No, she's pretty scared though," said Astrid. She had Edelweiss resting on her shoulder and patted her back trying calm her down. Hiccup was looking at the broken cradle.

"Shame, I really liked that cradle," he said. Snotlout had his fingers in his ears.

"Will some one shut it up?" he yelled. Aurora scowled at him. Then she whipped her tail around and whipped Snotlout in the rear. He howled and clamped his hands over his throbbing backside, dancing on the spot. Everyone laughed at him.

"Hey do that again that was funny," said Tuffnut between laughs.

"Nah, it's not as funny the second time," said Aurora.

"What's going on out there!?" Serenity called from the house.

"Nothing, we've got it under control," Re called back. Meatlug went up to Chris, who still had Fishlegs at sword blade.

"Please let him go," she said. "I'll make sure he doesn't get near another baby." Chris sighed then released Fishlegs. Everyone started to calm down from the even, including Edelweiss who had stopped crying. Chris put his sword away. Then Serenity came out with Eider. The young dragon had his bad paw in a cast. Astrid handed Edelweiss to Serenity.

"I don't know where you can set her down at," Astrid said. "Because someone had to go and break the cradle." She glared at Fishlegs.

"I said I was sorry," said Fishlegs.

"Well this gives me an opportunity to try out the baby sling," Serenity said. She handed Edelweiss to Chris then took the baby sling off the tree branch it was hanging from. She put it around her neck and shoulder. Then she took Edelweiss back and gently put her in the baby sling. She seemed to fit perfectly. Serenity picked up the blanket that was on the ground near the cradle and tucked it around the baby, keeping her warm.

"It looks to big for her," said Re.

"It'll last me a long time then," Serenity said. "And I can ride dragons this way."

"Can we go home now Mama?" asked Apollo. "I want to show Eider our castle." Aurora turned to Serenity.

"You up to go home?" she asked.

"I'm itching to get back in the saddle again," Serenity said. Tenor jumped down from the tree.

"I hope this incident with Fishlegs won't keep you from bringing Edelweiss back," said Astrid.

"I don't think it will," Chris said. "But if it happens again, then we won't bring her back. I'm just glad she has dragons for grandparents." Re and Aurora blushed. Serenity looked down at Edelweiss who was falling asleep.

"Lets get going while the sun is still in the morning position," Re said. Tenor knelt down so Serenity could mount him. Chris got on Windwalker, bareback as she didn't have her saddle.

"We'll be back to get started on our plans for Dragon Island," Aurora said. "In the next month or so."

"And we'll help with the construction," Hiccup offered.

"You got yourself a deal," Re said. He spread his wings and took off, followed by the others. Tenor was the last to take off.

"Take it easy Tenor," Serenity said patting his neck. He nodded then took off after the others. Serenity was very happy to be riding again after nine months. She was pleased to see that she hadn't lost any of her skills. Tenor flew as smooth as he could. They were followed by Apollo, Avalon, and Eider.

"Thanks for the swan it was beautiful," Serenity said to Chris.

"You're welcome," Chris said. "Where is it?" Serenity reached into a pocket in the baby sling and pulled out the wooden swan.

"Oh wow that is pretty," said Windwalker. Serenity put it back into it's pocket. She clicked the reins and they dragons all sped up heading for home.


End file.
